The Archer's Bows Have Broken
by eight-cent-plantation
Summary: The beginning of a friendship, the beginning of a war, the end of an era, the end of an old life... In the midst of everything, they found hope, comfort, love and laughter in places that they never thought they would.LilyJames COMPLETE
1. Fighting In A Sack

_A new story…when I finished "An, As of Now, Untitled Story," which is viewed by some as my 'comeback' or something like that, I decided to give another fic a try. Reviews and criticism are highly appreciated. The chapters start off a bit short then get longer, as it seems to be with any story. Thanks for reading…_

_**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to anything from the Harry Potter books which are the brilliant brainchildren of J.K. Rowling who is a good sport and lets us write these fanfictions.**_

**Chapter One: Fighting In A Sack**

Around a school, many things can be considered 'common knowledge.' Some of these little pearls of wisdom are true, some of them aren't. You need to be careful in deciding which of these what really should be considered rumors you choose to believe…especially where teenagers and jealousy are involved. They won't all be true.

Take, for example, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry. Some bits of 'common knowledge' around good old Hogwarts are as follows… Gryffindors hate Slytherins. Hufflepuffs can't play good Quidditch. If you say the word cheese three times and then spin until you get dizzy in front of the big mirror in the fourth floor girls' bathroom, you're four poster bed will turn into a very large cheese puff…and yes, it will be edible. Lily Evans is the smartest witch in the school, and she hates James Potter. James Potter is the second smartest wizard in the school, and he asked Lily out once only to have his eyeballs turned backwards in their sockets. The Marauders like practical jokes and they target the Slytherins. Sirius Black doesn't date girls, he goes _on _dates _with _girls, one a week. James Potter is a man-whore. Severus Snape's grandmother is actually his sister's aunt.

Obviously, some of these things seem completely outlandish and any sensible person would dismiss them all right away, opting instead to seek the truth. However, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry, teenagers and jealousy issues are thrown into the mix…that's where it could get a bit ugly from time to time…

**---**

"I can not even _begin_to stress the severity of this situation!"

"James didn't do anything wrong…he pulled Snape out."

"Mr. Potter, is this true?" Blue eyes that usually held a twinkle stared at James over half-moon glasses. The eyes were stone cold and angry. James Potter couldn't bring himself to speak, not after what had just happened. He merely nodded, his black hair, which was usually wildly messy, matted to his head with his own blood. "Very well," said Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. "Get yourself up to the Hospital Wing and get your head looked at."

Again, James could do nothing more than nod at the headmaster. With one last look at his best friend, James left Sirius Black to the headmaster, closing the office door behind him.

_How could he have been so stupid?_ is what kept running through James' mind. _How could he use Remus like that? What the _hell_ was he thinking?_

Upon entering the Hospital Wing, James saw a very busy Madame Pomfrey tending to Severus Snape's wounds. When she saw him, she silently pointed to a bed at the other end of the ward. James said not one word as he made his way over to what was to be his hospital bed for the next hour or so.

Once Snape had been given a dreamless sleep potion, Madame Pomfrey the mediwitch went to James' bedside. "Potter," she snapped.

"I didn't do anything wrong," James said in his own defense. "I pulled him out…for once, I didn't want him to suffer."

Madame Pomfrey's look softened considerably. "Why are you here, Potter?"

"Dumbledore wants me to get my head fixed up," James said. His voice was emotionless…he wasn't sure how he felt about this whole situation just yet. Sirius Black had done some pretty stupid things, but this was ridiculous.

Once Madame Pomfrey had cleaned and fixed James up, she sent him on his way to Gryffindor Tower. By the time he made it up to the sixth year boys' dormitory, Peter had snuck back into the castle and was nervously pacing back and forth, his blonde hair quite windswept.

"James!" he exclaimed when James entered. Closing the door behind him, the black-haired boy moved into the room to sit on his own bed. "Where's Sirius?"

"Still with the headmaster, I'd expect," James said in the same empty tone that he had been using in the Hospital Wing. "Please tell me you didn't know about this, Wormtail."

"Of course not, James!" Peter said, shaking his head fiercely. He sounded like a child trying to please a parent. "Do you think Sirius will be expelled?"

"I hope not," James sighed. He removed his glasses to rub his eyes. "It wouldn't give Remus a proper chance to kill him." Peter made a noise that James couldn't really place. "We might as well get some sleep, Wormtail," James went on to say after a moment. "Tomorrow is going to be a _very _long day."

As if obeying an order, Peter scurried over to his own bed. As he closed the curtains, he bid James goodnight. Sighing, James placed his glasses on his bedside table and laid down, not bothering to change into pajamas. He didn't close his curtains either…he knew Sirius would wake him when he came in, there was no reason to draw the curtains. He didn't even bother to close his chocolate colored eyes…James just stared at the ceiling wondering if all of this was really happening…

The next thing James knew, the sun had risen and Peter was shaking him awake. Peter was already dressed in his school uniform and ready for the day. "James," he said. "James, wake up. You need to get ready."

Shooting up, James asked the time. "Half passed six," Peter replied. "Did Sirius come back last night?"

"I don't know," James said, grabbing his glasses. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall. I'm going to take a quick shower and stuff."

Nodding, Peter left James in the otherwise empty dormitory. James glanced over at Sirius' bed…it wasn't made. That was a sign that he had indeed come back, but he also left before either Peter or James woke up.

James stretched as he approached his trunk. Out of it, he pulled the Marauders Map. Once it had properly drawn itself, he searched for Sirius' name and found that he was sitting in the Infirmary next to the dot labeled Remus Lupin. Shaking his head and sighing, James wiped the map clear and headed into the bathroom to have a shower.

By the time he made it to the Hospital Wing, Sirius had gone. James suspected that it had much to do with the fact that Remus had awoken. When James pushed the door to the Infirmary open, Remus waved him over.

"Morning, James," he said stiffly.

"How are you, mate?" James asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"He's lucky I'm not the violent type," the sandy-haired, pale teen growled. Then he added, "…at least I'm not in _this _form." James stayed silent as he pulled a chair over to Remus' bed. "I could kill him, James."

Nodding, James sat and said, "Listen, Moony-"

"Don't, James," Remus said, holding up a hand that had vicious looking bite marks on it. "Don't defend him to me right now, alright? It is definitely _not _the time to defend him. He was up here this morning…trying to apologize, but I don't want to hear it. This is exactly what I've feared since coming to school…"

"I'm sorry, Remus," James mumbled. He felt somewhat responsible for Sirius' actions. And it showed on his face.

Shaking his head, Remus said, "Listen, James, you and Peter had nothing to do with it. Hell, if it hadn't have been for you…" The pale boy sighed, leaning back against his self-fluffing pillows. "I just don't want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't have been there. Thank you."

"Er…not a problem," James said awkwardly.

"Listen, James…" Remus sighed yet again. "I don't mean to get you into the middle of anything. You know that, right?" James nodded slowly. "I think I'm going to have to just…not be around Sirius for a while." Again, James nodded. "I'm sorry, mate," Remus said sadly. "I don't mean to do this to you and Peter…"

"I know," said James. "Listen, I have to go to Potions…do you want to go get a drink in Hogsmeade later? I think we could both kind of use it today, eh?"

Remus nodded. "After dinner?"

"See you then, mate."

With that, James left the Hospital Wing with his book bag slung over his shoulder to face what was undoubtedly going to be a very long rest of the school year.


	2. Story of A Lonely Guy

**Chapter Two: Story of A Lonely Guy**

Sirius sat in the dungeon outside of the Potions classroom. Why was he so stupid? What the hell had been going through his mind at that point? The young man sighed as he buried his head in his hands.

"You really fucked it up this time, Black," he said quietly to himself. "You took it too far…that never would have been funny. It wasn't a prank."

"I think that's the first smart thing I've ever heard you say."

Sirius looked up to see James sliding down the stone wall to sit next to him. "Hey, mate," he said quietly. James nodded at him. The pair sat in silence for quite some time. Sooner or later, more Gryffindors along with some Ravenclaws joined them, completely unaware of the events that had unfolded after curfew the previous night. The door to the classroom opened and our two boys led the way into the room, heading straight for the back where they were soon joined by Peter.

_Want to go for a drink tonight? I could really use it right now._

_-S_

_Actually, I'm meeting Moony for drinks tonight…_

_-J_

_Oh, alright. No big deal._

_-S_

_I'm free tonight, Padfoot._

_-P_

_Sounds good, Wormtail._

_-S_

_I'm sorry, Padfoot._

_-J_

_Don't apologize, Prongs…it's not a big deal. I'll be fine._

_-S_

James frowned as he read this last sentence. He could feel the proverbial tug of a fight between the best of friends…half of him was going one way-to Hogsmeade with Remus-and half of him was going the other. Yes, it was going to be a long rest-of-the-year indeed…

Sirius sat back as James shoved the note they had been passing into his bag and pulled out his copy of Advanced Potion Making. Sirius shook his head and sighed, deciding that he might as well pay attention…he was lucky that he was sitting there, that Dumbledore had given him this chance, rather than expelling him on the spot or worse, turning him over to the Ministry. He might as well take full advantage of it.

As the day wore on, Madame Pomfrey healed the various cuts and bites that Remus had inflicted upon himself the previous night with care. As Remus was preparing to leave for lunch, he saw a familiar face enter the Infirmary.

A redhead entered and went straight for Madame Pomfrey to request a potion for her headache. The mediwitch complied and the redhead was soon good to go. When she turned and saw him sitting there, she smiled softly at him and he noticed that her eyes looked a bit red as if she had been crying.

"Hello, Remus," she said softly. "What are you in for?"

"Oh," Remus said, standing and taking his cloak off of the chair next to his bed. "I think that dinner last night just rubbed me the wrong way. I wasn't feeling great this morning." It wasn't a _complete_ lie…he hadn't been feeling great that morning and he still wasn't. "Are you alright?" Remus asked as he opened the door to let Lily out before him. "You look like you've been crying."

The green-eyed girl rubbed her eyes subconsciously with the back of her hand. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a bit of trouble on the home front."

"I'm sorry," Remus said sympathetically. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm an excellent listener."

With a soft smile, Lily Evans thanked the tall, skinny boy. "How is it-" she went on to ask "-that when I'm around your friends, I feel this infuriating anger rise from the pit of my stomach, but around you I'm fine?"

"It's because I'm amazing," Remus said jokingly. "Listen, I'm not really up to eating lunch in the Great Hall, but eating alone is never fun either. Do you want to run down to the kitchens with me for lunch?"

"What about the other three?" Lily questioned, undoubtedly meaning Peter, Sirius and James.

"Well…" Remus said. "Sirius and I had a bit of an argument, actually…"

Remus led Lily down past the loud, crowded Great Hall and down to the kitchens. As they walked, he fed her a fake story about a misunderstanding between himself and Sirius. She didn't question the story that he gave her…after all, she had no reason to do so.

The pair spent the lunch hour together talking about Prefect duties and grades. When the conversation turned to home life-Remus couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her when he saw her in the Infirmary, after all-Lily drew back a bit. For the rest of their time together, she trusted him with personal information that she didn't usually like to mention otherwise. She felt that she could trust him…he seemed like a nice enough person. He had always been the Marauder that _hadn't _pissed her off, after all. Besides, she really needed to unload.

As the day wore on, Sirius became more and more depressed. It was now nearing the end of dinner and Remus hadn't so much as looked in his general direction. His somewhat childish hopes of a quick forgiveness proved to be just that…childish. At the present moment, Remus was sitting with Lily Evans, Patricia Martin and Alice Barber as they chattered away like sixteen year old girls do.

"Padfoot, stop staring at Moony…it's creepy," James said, trying to draw Sirius' attention back to the real world.

With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart, Sirius turned back to James and Peter. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight, mate?" James asked sincerely, allowing himself to be tugged in the proverbial tug of war.

Shaking his head, Sirius said, "Don't do that…don't get yourself caught up in this, James."

"We'll be alright, Sirius," James said reassuringly, grasping his best friend's shoulder from across the table. "Just give him some time and he'll come around."

"He shouldn't have to come around, James," Sirius said solemnly. "This is my fault…I'm not hungry."

Sirius stood and was gone from the Gryffindor Table before James or Peter could say a word. Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Sirius leave, but he made no move to prevent it. He felt bad for Peter and James, he really did, but not bad enough to go get Sirius…not yet.

Sirius, after leaving the Great Hall, had gone to his room. When James went up to the bedroom sometime later, he found that the curtains around Sirius' bed had been drawn, so he did not disturb his friend. Instead, he grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders Map and returned to the common room to meet Remus.

This fight between the two Marauders had not even hit the twenty-four hour mark and already James was feeling torn up on the inside. He hated to see this happening and the fact that he couldn't prevent it. He hated to see Remus feel used and afraid of something that he couldn't control. He hated to see Sirius hurting so much that he would abandon his dinner and barely speak to anyone…not even any of the many girls that were so tightly wrapped around his pinky finger. He hated that something had finally come between the otherwise inseparable group of best friends…he simply hated it.


	3. It's Summertime

**Chapter Three: It's Summertime**

It had been many weeks since the Snape-Moony incident, and Remus was still not so much as glancing at Sirius. James was still helplessly being tugged this way and that, try as his friends might to let him remain neutral. Remus had begun spending time with Lily, Alice and Patty rather than alone. Sirius and James went out to Hogsmeade more together-meaning on more than just Friday night Date Nights-while Peter just floated along hopelessly from group A to group B, hoping that this fight would soon be over with.

James and Peter mutually decided that they needed to blow off their steam. The last day of exams had finally come and gone, and by the time they were ready for dinner they were feeling too restless to deal with. What would be better to blow off a little bit of end-of-the-year steam than a good old fashion prank? Unfortunately, only two of the four Marauders would be involved, so it couldn't be something elaborate.

"You know what?" James said as the two walked to Gryffindor Tower together to drop off their bags for the last time that year. Peter raised an eyebrow. "Belch Powder," James said simply. "I've still got a bit leftover from last summer's Potter Family Barbecue Extravaganza. Lets just slip it into their food and be done with it…they'll have gas for hours."

Peter chuckled, glad that James was still easy to be around. "How do we get it in there?" he questioned.

"Take it down to the House Elves," James instructed. "Barnum will take care of you." When they made it up to their dormitory, he rummaged in his trunk for a moment and pulled out a small sealed bag. "I'll meet you down at dinner as soon as I take care of something real quick."

Nodding, Peter threw his bag onto his bed, took the bag of Belch Powder and was gone. James moved to Sirius' bed where the curtains were drawn. Sirius had only had one exam that morning, after which he headed up to the dorm and onto his bed. He had been doing this since the fight.

Ripping back the curtains, James said, "Up and at 'em, Padfoot. Dinner time…"

"Leamie alone, Jamesey," Sirius slurred.

"Are you _drunk_?" James said after a moment. "Padfoot, it's the middle of the day…or at least it must have been when you were drinking. Either way, it's too early for you to be drunk!"

"Jamesey, go away…I'm tireds and junk."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," James muttered to himself under his breath. "Come on, Padfoot." James lifted his best friend with all his might, but he didn't move. After a few moments of pulling, James realized that Sirius was dead weight because he passed out.

"Wonderful…"

Shaking his head in disapproval, James lowered Sirius, making sure that he was on his side before re-closing the hangings. He left to join Peter in the Great Hall and was more than ready to heard some really loud Slytherin belches.

---

"You are such an arrogant, immature _JERK!_"

"Evans, give it a rest!" Sirius shouted. He was irritated and rubbing his temples.

"I can fight my own battles, Padfoot," James said calmly. He turned to the angry red head in front of him. "Evans, piss off," he said in the same calm tone. His eyes betrayed him. "It's all in good fun, not that you have a sense of humor."

"You need an attitude adjustment, Potter," Lily Evans spat.

"Look who's talking!" Sirius scoffed. "You're the one who needs their attitude adjusted…and while you're in the operation room, why not see if they can fix your lopsided ears."

Lily looked infuriated. She pushed passed the two boys, both of whom were much taller than she, and stomped up the stairs to the girls' dormitories in Gryffindor Tower. James sighed heavily and dropped onto the couch that he had been standing in front of. Sirius-who was still a bit on the tipsy side-did the same, only he was in an armchair. "Why can't she just give it a rest?" he asked. "It's the last bloody day of sixth year…you're allowed to blow off some steam if you want to."

James just shrugged, running a hand through his already messy black hair. "Who knows what's up her ass," he mumbled. "What time is it, Padfoot?"

"Almost eight."

James popped up, suddenly very happy. "I've got to meet Terry," he said.

Sirius chuckled. "You are so whipped," he said. "_I'm_ supposed to be the puppy dog."

Ignoring Sirius, James practically ran out of the common room in his excitement. Sirius heard him greet 'Moony and Wormtail' as he ran passed them and bit his lower lip. Sure enough, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew entered the common room very shortly after James left it.

Upon spotting Sirius, Peter waved and trotted over. Remus, however, went straight up the stairs to the boys' rooms.

"Is he ever going to talk to me again?" Sirius sighed, looking to Peter for some answers.

"I don't really know, Padfoot," Peter squeaked. "He's really ticked that you did that to Snape…not because it was Snape, of course, but because of the whole situation in general, you know?"

"I know!" Sirius exclaimed, burying his head in his hands. "I don't know how many times I can apologize to him before he gets that I'm sorry…I really am sorry."

"I don't really feel comfortable talking about it," Peter said, shifting his weight between feet. "I don't like being in the middle of a fight. We're the Marauders, we aren't supposed to fight…"

Sirius sighed yet again. "I'm sorry, Pete," he said. "Fancy a game of chess?"

---

The following morning found Sirius sitting in a compartment with four females of varying houses talking his game. James was in a separate compartment with Terry Manning, his girlfriend, and her friends, while Remus and Peter were sitting in yet another compartment. Remus was teaching Peter how to be a better chess player. It was the first time that the Marauders had ever sat separately on a Hogwarts Express journey, and it was really weighing on James.

When the scarlet steam engine pulled into Kings Cross Station, James disembarked after a very drawn out goodbye with Terry. As he pulled his trunk onto a handcart, Remus and Peter approached him.

"Hey, guys," he said, running his hand through his hair.

Remus clapped the young wizard on the back. "I guess I'll see you in September, mate," he said.

Nodding, James said, "Guess you will…listen, Rem…at least _think_ about _considering_ forgiving him, will you?" Remus' look darkened. "It's killing him," James added.

"We'll see what happens, James," Remus said. "He…" Remus trailed off, shaking his head. "See you next year, mate. Have a good summer."

Nodding, James said his goodbyes to Remus. Once Remus had walked away, Sirius appeared beside Peter and James.

"Shall we, gentlemen?" he said, trying his best to fake a smile as he pushed his handcart toward the barrier.


	4. Interlude No 1

**Chapter Four: Interlude No. 1**

_Dear Diary,_

_Hello, diary. It's me, Lily…not that it would really be anyone else, would it? The summer has been going relatively well considering everything. It's two minutes past five right now and the wind is fierce outside of my window. Thunder is filling my ears as well as the pitter patter of the rain. Lightning occasionally lights my room up with a bright flash._

_The reason I'm up so late (or early…I'm not sure which it's considered…I suppose late seeing as I haven't gone to sleep yet) is because Daddy and I were sitting on the porch listening to the rain and watching the flashes of lightning. We talked about school and friends…like we used to do when I was really little. Back then he would tell me stories…King Swami and his daughter Princess Lily lived in a giant castle…_

_Petunia never cared for the stories, so she simply wasn't in them._

_I loved those stories when I was little. He used to tell me one every night before bed. When my parents divorced, he'd call me on the phone and tell me the story over the phone before bed when I was at my mother's house…after about a month and a half, I chose to go live with him while Petunia chose to stay with Mother. Daddy has always been the best, the most supportive and loving._

_I'm really glad that he met Paula…I'm really glad that she stuck around after everything. And she doesn't care that I'm a witch like Mother does. Paula thinks it's cool. She's fascinated by magic and loves to thumb through my old textbooks every now and again. I love Paula and I love my dad. _

_He seems to think that I'll make Head Girl this year without a problem. I'm not so sure…I don't know how well I did on my exams at the end of last year. I think Marlene McKinnon from Ravenclaw may be able to beat me for the title. And if she does, good for her. She would really deserve it! She's a brilliant witch and SUCH a nice girl! _

_I wonder who the Head Boy will be this year…oh what am I saying?! Haha…it will be Remus Lupin, fellow Gryffindor. He's the most clever wizard in our year. Remus has been a great friend the past couple of weeks as well. I don't know…I never pictured myself hanging out with a Marauder and liking it, but Remus isn't like that ass James or that moron Sirius. Peter isn't that bad, but he's too easily influenced by James and Sirius._

_I don't underst_

_There are flashing lights outside_


	5. Last Days of Summer

_Yeah...I apologize if this isn't edited perfectly...I'll do it later, but I wanted to get it out to you before class today._

**Chapter Five: Last Days of Summer**

"Sirius Black, get _up_!"

The young man with shaggy black hair pulled his comforter over his head to block the sunlight that was now streaming in through his window from his tired eyes.

"_Sirius_."

As his covers were brutally ripped from his body, Sirius groaned something along the line of "Grams, I don't _wanna._"

"Sirius Black, you get out of bed this instant!"

"No!"

Ms. Maria Potter, angry at her 'other grandson,' pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "If you aren't out of that bed in five seconds, I'll send James up to wake you."

"If I had a white flag, I would wave it now." Sirius admitted his defeat as he slowly rolled out of bed.

"You'd better be downstairs for breakfast in _ten minutes_," Grandma Potter warned, leaving the room.

"Yes, Grams," Sirius called after her.

Downstairs, a bleary-eyed James Potter sat at the kitchen table across from his father who was sucking coffee down by the potfull. Poor James was falling asleep and into his oatmeal.

"How is it that you're so darn awake at this hour?" James asked groggily as his grandmother reappeared in the kitchen. "This hour?" Grandma Potter repeated, taking a seat next to her son. "James, it's nearly nine a.m."

"He's a teenage boy, Mom," Mr. David Potter said to his mother as he opened his Daily Prophet. "He's programmed to not enjoy the sunlight."

"As am I!" Sirius exclaimed, sliding into the kitchen and landing in his chair next to James.

"You boys go back up to school in a week," said Grandma Potter. "You should be getting back in the swing of things."

"She used to do the same thing to me when I was your age," David said, chuckling.

"_I _don't have to get up early unless I _want_ to this year."

"You think you're _so _smart just because you have an awesome schedule this year," Sirius muttered bitterly, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

"Well, Sirius, if you would have done better on your O.W.L.s in fifth year, you'd be having an easier time of school too," said Mr. Potter, folding his paper and then draining the last bit of his coffee.

"That hurts, Dad…that really hurts," Sirius said, pouting.

David laughed, shaking his head. "I have to go to work," he announced. "See you all for dinner." With a smile and a small wave, he disapparated.

"I still don't think we should be awake…"

"Shut your trap, Sirius," Grandma Potter said. "There will be no skipping of your morning classes this year."

"Speaking of Hogwarts…" said James, standing and moving to the window. As he opened it, two large barn owls swooped in, dropping James' and Sirius' Hogwarts Letters on the kitchen table.

Both boys ripped the envelopes open excitedly.

"Dear James Potter…" James muttered under his breath. "Seventh and final year…N.E.W.T.s…Quidditch…congratulations on making Head Boy…winter-wait a minute!" James suddenly exclaimed, interrupting himself.

"_You're_ Head Boy?!"

"Don't sound so surprised, Sirius," said a beaming Grandma Potter. "David was Head Boy when he was at Hogwarts and so was his father."

"I know that, but…I could have _sworn _that Remus would get the badge! How could I be wrong about that? I don't know," Sirius answered himself, "but there is _no _way I can be wrong about the Head Girl being Lily Evans, right? This is all craziness…" Sirius turned to James only to realize that he wasn't listening to one word…he had passed out.

"The shock did the same thing to David, believe it or not." Grandma Potter began to clear the table. "Sirius, be a dear and get James up and about, please. We need to get to Diagon Ally before the crowds."

"You got it, Grams."

---

When Sirius, James and Grandma Potter finally made it to Diagon Ally, Grandma Potter left the boys to head over to Florish And Blotts to buy the boys' books. With pockets full of money, the two boys ran, nearly tripping over themselves, each other and innocent bystanders, to the Quidditch shop. All morning tiredness had been forgotten.

"Look at that!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing at the display window of Quality Quidditch Supplies as the two neared the shop.

"The new Nimbus One Thousand And One! Awesome," James breathed, slowing his pace to that of a normal human being.

The boys spent, as usual, a considerable amount of time gawking at things that they didn't _really_ need in Quality Quidditch Supplies. Eventually, James needed to literally drag Sirius away from the display of new Anti-Theft Devices, telling him that if they didn't get all of their school supplies soon, they wouldn't be fed dinner.

As they were walking away from the store, a voice called out after them, "I'm surprised you were able to drag yourselves out of there!"

Turning, James caught sight of the boys' longtime friend Remus Lupin. Remus' sandy hair bounced with each hurried step he took toward them. "Jeez, Moony," James said, clapping the pale young man on the back. "You need a haircut, mate."

"Yeah, I know," Remus said, self-consciously running a hand through his hair. "How have you two been?"

"Fine," said James, smiling.

"Okay," Sirius answered slowly, not meeting Remus' eyes.

Remus bent his knees slightly so that he could look Sirius in the eye. "I'm not mad at you, Padfoot," he said, being sure to use Sirius' nickname.

"What?"

"I'm not mad," Remus repeated. "What you did to Snape was stupid, not to mention borderline criminal…but I'm not mad at you anymore. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

With a grateful smile, Sirius man-hugged Remus. "Thank you, Remus."

"Well isn't that cute," James said, smirking. The Snape-Moony incident had torn their little group apart last year. Neither James nor Sirius had heard from Remus all summer.

Sirius punched James in the arm as the trio began their short journey to the Apothecary. "Guess what, Moony," he said. Remus raised an eyebrow. "James made Head Boy!"

Remus stopped walking and grabbed his chest like he was having a heart attack. "_Very_ funny, Moony," James said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He entered the Apothecary ahead of his so-called friends.

"Oh!" Remus exclaimed. "I ran into Lily Evans in Scribbulus Everchanging Inks and-"

"She's Head Girl!" Sirius finished in unison with Remus. The ladder gave James a significant look, but he shrugged it off. Yes, at one time he had had somewhat of a crush on Lily Evans, but now he was going out with Terry Manning and he was quite happy with that situation. Besides, Evans was a total bitch.

"Did I just hear my name?"

A red-haired, green-eyed girl stepped into view from the cauldron section and smiled when she saw Remus. "Ah, Remus," she said. "We just keep running into each other today, don't we?"

"That we do, Lily," Remus said with a big smile. "I was just telling James and Sirius here about your wonderful achievement in fearless leadership." Lily chuckled at Remus' choice of words and the fact that he was now bowing down to her.

"I still don't know who the Head Boy is."

"You're looking at him, Evans," said Sirius. "Dear old James here had abandoned us and our detention-earning ways of life to take on the almost-ultimate position of power."

Lily blinked rapidly. "Is he serious?" she asked James.

"Always!" said Sirius. This earned him two dead arms-one from each of his friends.

"It's true," James went on to say. "I got the badge."

"Wow…hmm…" Shrugging, Lily held out her hand. "Congratulations, James," she said. "Looks like we're partners for the year."

James took Lily's hand for a brief moment to shake it before letting it go. "You too."

"Well…enjoy your last few days of freedom, boys. I'll see you on the Express." With one last smile at Remus, Lily Evans was gone.

"Did she just congratulate me, shake my hand, call me _James_, and _not_ yell at me for being an 'immature jerk?'"

"Yes…yes, that is what has just transpired," Remus said, equally as surprised as James.

"Creepy."

"Yeah…woah…" James shook his head, causing his hair to flop around wildly. "Do you want to eat dinner at our house tonight, Moony?" James asked, shaking the exchange with Lily from his mind. "Terry is coming over…and my grandma might even give you a trim."

"Shut up."


	6. The Anatomy of The Journey

_Morning, kids! (I use the term morning very lightly, seeing as it is two in the afternoon.) Today is the last day of classes for the semester and I have just effectively slept through my last class of the semester! Yay for waking up at 2! Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU! for reading and reviewing. Enjoy…_

**Chapter Six: The Anatomy of The Journey**

"All aboard," said Grandma Potter, opening her arms to James and Sirius. Both boys stepped in for hugs and cheek kisses. "We'll miss you two…stay out of trouble!"

"Aw, Grams, when have we _ever_ gotten into trouble?" Sirius said, unfitting innocence written all over his face.

Grandma Potter lightly slapped Sirius' head, saying, "Get out of here, both of you!"

"Bye, Grams," James said, climbing onto the train after Sirius. "See you at Christmas!"

As the Hogwarts Express began to pull away from the platform, Sirius and James set out to find Remus, Terry and Peter Pettigrew who was a mousy boy that routinely followed the other three everywhere until he wormed his way into their hearts. The four boys formed a group known as The Marauders, the most notorious pranksters known to the world.

The train ride was rather uneventful for the most part. The only thing that really had the boys talking was Lily popping her head in to remind James-quite civilly-that they had a meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore right after the feast. "I don't like her," Terry had commented after the compartment door had closed once more.

You see, James and Lily had been, well, less than friends for quite some time. In their first year, James had accidentally burned her eyebrows off while simultaneously turning her hair green in their very first Charms class. Even since then she had been constantly angry with him.

All James wanted was to let bygones be bygones. Little did he know, that wasn't the only reason…Lily hated him because she believed almost every rumor about him that flew around the girls' dormitories late at night. She believed that he thought he was God's gift to Quidditch. She kind of resented him for being able to get amazing marks in classes without ever studying. Most of all, Lily Evans hated the things she heard about James Potter's treatment of the girls of Hogwarts.

So, anyway, why was she suddenly being so nice to him? He wasn't sure and couldn't think of a single reason…

The journey to Hogwarts was a lengthy one, as always. When James finally stepped off of the Express, he heard the hollering of a familiar voice: "Firs' years, this way!"

"Hey, Hagrid!" he yelled over the heads of a massive crowd of his peers. A beaming Hagrid the gamekeeper waved back as James got swept away in the sea of students.

When he reached the carriages, James began to sort things out with the students as he had seen previous Head Students doing. After all, he didn't want the feast to be delayed anymore than the Sorting would delay it…he was hungry.

Lily Evans could not believe her eyes. As the crowd of students waiting to get into carriages thinned, she saw James Potter doing something _responsible_.

_Perhaps this year won't be too bad, then_ Lily thought as she ushered the last of the students-some second and third years-into their carriages.

"Looks like it's just you and me," James said. He smiled as he opened the door to the final carriage so that Lily could climb in before he did.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

The short journey up to the castle was spent, for Lily, staring out of the window. She seemed to be lost in thought, James observed. He noticed that she was a very different person than the one who had thrown a shoe-or four-at him at the end of fifth year because he had asked her out on a date. Yes, contrary to the stories, all she did was throw some shoes at his head.

She seemed…mellow? No, that wasn't it…it was more like sad. James thought that she looked like she was doing her best to hide some-or a lot of-sadness.

He wondered why she would be so sad on the first night back to school when she was usually excited as hell to be back in the magical world…he also wondered why she had been okay with the fact that he, James, had gotten the Head Boy badge and not Remus. He would have bet his place on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team that she'd be furious.

---

During the feast, the hair color of each and every Slytherin, even the new first years, was changed and their table began to resemble a wonderfully colorful rainbow.

"What did you guys do?" James hissed through laughter.

"Welcome back prank!" Peter squeaked excitedly.

"How come no one told me about it?" James questioned, slightly hurt that they had left him out of the planning of a prank. That wasn't the Marauder way…

"Head Boy."

"So?"

"What Sirius here means to say, Prongs, is that you shouldn't be getting into any trouble first night back," Remus explained. "Wait until we get at least a week in before you go doing something that could lose you your badge."

James, though still slightly put off, agreed with Remus as Professor McGonagall moved toward the Marauders to hand out the ceremonial first detention of the year.

"Black, Pettigrew, Lupin, Potter, report to-"

"James didn't know about this one," Sirius said, cutting the professor off.

"And why should I believe that?"

"James was with me sorting things out with the carriages, professor," came a small voice from a little ways down the table. Lily had stood up and was facing McGonagall.

Even the professor looked shocked at the Head Girl sticking up for James Potter. "O-okay, Miss Evans," she said. "Thank you."

Nodding, Lily took her seat and resumed eating her dinner.

"Lily…what the _hell_ was that?" a plump, brown-haired girl-Alice Barber-questioned.

"What was what?"

"You just saved Potter's ass, not to mention his badge," the other girl who was eating with them- blonde-haired, green-eyed Patricia Martin –pointed out.

"So?" said Lily, shrugging.

"Patty, check her temperature while I get Madame Pomfrey; Lily's sick!"

Meanwhile, once Professor McGonagall had returned to the high table, all four Marauders plus Terry were left gaping at Lily. "Something is definitely strange here," James said. The boys nodded, returning to their meals as Terry continued to glare daggers at Lily.

---

"So, you both know your basic responsibilities as our Head Students…you are expected to patrol hallways after curfew has passed, keep up school spirits, plan the Christmas Ball…all things along those lines. Most of all, you are expected to set a good example for all Hogwarts Students."

"Yes, sir."

Headmaster Dumbledore was leading the two seventh years up to the fourth floor of the castle as he spoke. "Now, as you may or may not know, our Head Students live in a separate dormitory together with a private common room and bathrooms."

The old man stopped walking and turned to face a portrait of a vampire. "Jellypop."

"Jellypop?" James repeated, smiling.

The old man smiled wide at the young man. "Yes, Mr. Potter…jellypop."

Dumbledore led Lily and James through the hole in the wall and into a brilliantly decorated common room. The carpet was a deep red and the couches and armchairs all golden. James was happy that they were both Gryffindors because none of the other houses colors would have went well with his.

"Your room, Miss Evans, is through that short hallway to the left," Dumbledore went on, pointing. "And, Mr. Potter, you're through that door right there. Your bathrooms are attached to your bedrooms."

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "I believe that is all you need to know for now," he said. "Our first prefects meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening. If you haven't any questions, have a good night's sleep!"

Both students shook their heads and wished the headmaster a good night. Then he was gone, leaving the two teens standing alone in the common room.

"Well…this is neat," James said slowly, trying to break the awkward silence. Lily only nodded. "Would you mind if I gave my friends and Terry the password?"

"Not at all…I plan on giving it to my friends as well."

"Cool," said James, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Lily sighed lightly and busied herself with looking around the common room.

"Hey, Lily, are you alright?" James finally came out and asked.

Lily looked up at him, not quite meeting his eyes as she nodded. "I'm a bit tired."

"…okay." James shrugged. "Goodnight, Lily."


	7. Bidding Adeiu

_I…am…so…tired._

**Chapter Seven: Bidding Adeiu**

"Why are you at breakfast at seven a.m. sharp if you don't have to wake up until like, eight thirty for a nine o'clock class?"

"Because, Padfoot, I'm hungry," James answered, plopping into his seat across from Sirius. "That and Grams is evil…she's programmed me to be up early…it's horrible."

"Morning, James," Peter said after swallowing a mouthful of eggs.

"Good morning, Pete."

"So, James, sharing a dormitory with Lily all year?" Remus said, smirking suggestively and winking at James.

"Yeah," said Sirius sulkily. "It's going to be a _long_ year."

"Moony, quit it," said James, loading his plate. "I'm over that. I'm with Terry now. Sirius, stop sulking, we'll be fine."

"Sirius, she's not that bad," Remus said in Lily's defense. When Sirius had set the Snape-Moony incident into motion, Remus had stopped speaking to him. Lily had been there for Remus-knowing that there had been an argument between the Marauders but not knowing the true reason-and they had become friends.

"Moony, I think you're feverish."

"Padfoot, he's right," said James, shaking his fork slightly at Sirius. Some eggs flew off of it and hit Sirius in the face. "Sorry."

Rolling his eyes at his long time best friend, Sirius decided to change the subject. "What are you doing Friday night?" he asked James.

"Judging by your tone," said James, "I'm taking Terry on another one of your double dates."

"You've got it," Sirius said happily. "Someone get this man a cookie! He deserves it." He winked at James. "I was talking to Fran Johnson, you know…Ravenclaw, sixth year." James nodded. "She's hot. Tell Terry we're all going to the Three Broomsticks Friday night. They're friends, she won't care.

"And, Moony, you need to come as well."

"I told you, Sirius, I'm not interested in you setting me up."

James laughed at Sirius, shaking his head. He was always trying to get Remus to join them on their little dates, but Remus was never interested. He didn't want to see girls like that, he wanted to find the right person. James did have to give Sirius some credit, though, for he had set James and Terry up over the previous school year and it had really worked out.

---

Friday night came and found James sitting in a Three Broomsticks booth next to his girlfriend and across from Sirius and his date. Fran was a brunette with brown eyes from Ravenclaw, but, in James' opinion, she was on Sirius like a Hufflepuff. Terry, who was also a brunette by the way, was staring uncomfortably at the pair.

"Do you want to like…go for a walk or something?" she whispered to James. "She's my friend and I just…this is strange." James nodded and slid out of the booth.

The couple took to the streets of Hogsmeade. It was a mild night with a few clouds in the skies. As they walked further down the street, James silently contemplated his relationship and his life…

"_James_!"

"Hmm?"

"Merlin, James," said Terry. "You must have been thinking about something good if you've been ignoring me for five minutes." _Like Lily Evans,_ her mind went on.

"I was," James said as he stopped walking. He turned to face his girlfriend of nearly five months. "I was thinking about us…I don't know how I can put this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. I think that I'm in love with you, Terry…I love you."

Terry bit her lip, thinking _Shit_. "Please don't say that, James."

"What? Why?"

Terry sighed heavily. "Listen, James, we've been dating for a while," she began. "You and Sirius have been taking girls out for forever…I always heard that you guys, you know, sleep with them. According to Sirius' date from Monday night that's exactly what happens with him."

"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" James said quietly. Terry nodded. "Because I haven't slept with you." She nodded again.

"Well…that's why I went with you to Hogsmeade in the first place," Terry said, turning to walk away. "I didn't mean to get caught up in this…I wasn't looking for anything long term."

With that, James was left standing alone in the middle of Main Street.

---

It was nearly one in the morning when James returned to his common room. Lily was sitting on the couch in front of the fire when he entered, but upon closer inspection he saw that she was fast asleep.

Trying to keep quiet, James began to tiptoe to his bedroom, but he lost his balance. As he crashed into a table, causing a huge bang, Lily jumped up. "WHAHAPPEN?!"

"Sorry," James whispered, trying to pull himself up but failing miserably. "I'm jus' gonna sleep right here, 'kay?"

"James Potter, are you _drunk_?" Lily moved across the room to bend down at James' side.

"As a skunk," James admitted with a hearty laugh. He thought that he was hilarious.

"I could have your badge for this!" Lily informed him sternly, a bit of her old self finally coming back to her.

"Oh, don-don-don't do that," James stammered. Lily was caught off guard when tears began to leak from his eyes at an alarming rate. She felt her anger at the boy melt like a snowball on a Hawaiian beach.

"Why are you crying, James?" she asked, her Head Girl voice gone now. James only shook his head. "I promise I won't tell anyone that you were crying if you tell my why…"

"I'm not crying, the wind is making my eyes tear."

"Er, James…dear…we're indoors. There is no wind."

"Damn." James forcefully wiped his eyes on his shirt. He was still laying in an awkward position on top of the fallen table.

"James?"

"Terry broke up with me."

"…I'm sorry?"

"I've been seeing Terry Manning for almost five months and she dumped me because I didn't…you know…_sleep_ with her and junk."

"Why wouldn't you?" Lily said in a surprised tone before she could stop herself. Like the rest of the school, she had believed the rumors…the 'common knowledge' things that everyone thought was true.

"Why does everyone assume that I'm some kind of womanizing bastard?!" James suddenly exclaimed angrily. He struggled to get up and away from Lily. Though it took a lot of effort, James made it into his bedroom, slamming the door.

Lily scrambled to her feet and rushed over to the door to James' bedroom. He had locked it. "James Potter, open up!"

When Lily was given no answer, she sighed. "I'm sorry," she said to the door before turning and moving back to her seat in front of the fire to collect her things before going to bed.

On top of her books lay a single piece of muggle notebook paper.

_Dear Lily,_

_He's getting worse…_


	8. Sick Day

_I am still wrecked from last night. I fell asleep in my friend's dorm room on the freezing floor and I think I'm sick. Gross. Anywho, enjoy Chapter Eight and thanks so! much to all of you lovely reviewers._

**Chapter Eight: Sick Day**

Lily Evans sat in Advanced Transfiguration, wondering what the hell she was doing to herself. She wasn't listening to Professor McGonagall's speech about how Theories of Transubstantial Transfiguration was going to become their new best friend. Instead of paying attention, she was lost in thought…

_Lily entered her father's bedroom with a tray of hot soup and a glass of wine. "Dinner time, Daddy," she said with a big smile._

_Her father, who was sitting up in bed, placed his book on the bedside table and smiled at his youngest daughter. "You're a saint, darling," he said softly._

_Placing the tray in front of him, Lily kissed his bald head. "How are you feeling?"_

_"I'm fine," Jonathan Evans said cheerfully. "Did you make this soup?"_

_"From scratch."_

_"You really _are_ a saint!" Jonathan dug in. As he sipped the wine, he smiled again at his daughter. "Is Paula home yet?" he questioned._

_Lily shook her head._

A piece of parchment was slid into her hands from behind her, shaking her from her thoughts. Lily unfolded the parchment to see handwriting that she recognized as Remus'.

_Lily, pay attention! I can tell from behind that you're slacking off._

_-R.L._

Smiling, Lily dipped her previously abandoned quill into the bottle of Everchanging Ink that she had out on the desk. The note came out in rainbow ink…

_Sorry, R.L.! I'm a slacker, you caught me. How's it going?_

_-L.E._

_Better. How are things going at home, L.E.? I haven't had much of a chance to talk to you since we've been back at good ol' Hoggie._

_-R.L._

_Truthfully, things aren't so great._

_-L.E._

Remus read these words with concern etched deep into his features. As he was about to write back, the bell signaling the end of the class period sounded. On the back of the note, he scribbled the assignment that Professor McGonagall had written on the board before roughly shoving all of his belongings into his book bag.

As Lily was about to leave, he put a hand on her shoulder from behind her. "Do you want to take a walk? …talk about it maybe?" he asked.

"Not right now," Lily said quietly. "I've already been distracted enough as it is today…I just don't want to get into it at the moment. Maybe we can talk later?"

"Perfect. I'll find you after dinner." Remus moved passed Lily to catch up with his friends.

"Actually," Lily said, making Remus turn back toward her, eyebrows raised. "I had a bit of a misunderstanding with James…I was wondering if you could talk to him for me."

"A misunderstanding?"

Lily nodded. "He thinks I insulted him when I didn't mean to…the thing is I'm trying to bury the hatchet with him. We're working together, living together…I want to be his friend, not his sworn enemy."

"For you, Lily, I will make my stupid friend a bit less stupid," Remus said, smiling and bowing. "See you after dinner."

"Thank you, Remus."

---

With the appearance of dinner came the arrival of The Evening Prophet. James had the paper open and was occasionally taking sips of pumpkin juice or small bites of food. He was engrossed in a story that he had been surprised to see…

_More Disappearances: Is To Worry To Overreact?_

_As of this morning, seven more disappearances have been confirmed by the Ministry of Magic, though the names of those who are missing have not been released. The Minister of Magic had no comment on the situation, but Mr. Bartimius Crouch of the Department of Magic Law Enforcement had this to say: "The Wizarding Community need not worry about anything. These disappearances are in no way linked together. To worry about it would be to overreact to a situation that needs no second thoughts as far as the public is concerned."_

_While the Ministry has stated, through Mr. Crouch, that the Wizarding World need not be concerned, the Prophet wonders why. These disappearances, the Prophet has found, all have at least one thing in common: All of those who were taken were muggleborn Witches and Wizards…_

James stopped reading and folded up the paper. "Seven more people have disappeared," he said to Remus, who was sitting across from him, before taking in a large gulp of pumpkin juice. "The Ministry keeps denying that something big is going on here…I don't believe a word of it."

"What do you mean?" asked Peter from James' right side.

"The Prophet pointed out that every person that's gone missing has been muggleborn," James said, frowning. "Personally, I think that there's something going on that the Ministry doesn't want us to know about."

"James, it's a conspiracy theory you're talking about here," said Sirius, shrugging it off. "People go missing and immediately everyone thinks that there's something bigger behind it…maybe they just ran away from their lives. It happens."

James shook his head but stayed silent, opting instead to munch on his fried chicken. He had a bad feeling about it all…he didn't think it was a conspiracy that the disappearances were all linked. He felt that it was a solid fact that they were all linked.

Little did the Marauders know, James was one hundred percent correct.

Later that evening, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall could be found in the headmaster's office with a grizzly looking man named Alastor Moody. Moody had a slight limp as he moved into the room and sat across from the headmaster. McGonagall stood a little ways away and looked to be deep in thought.

"You know what's happening, Dumbledore," Moody grunted without so much as a hello. "I can see it in your eyes…you know what's happening."

"Yes, Alastor," Dumbledore said slowly. He looked pained as he said the next sentence. "Riddle has come back and he's killing muggles and muggleborns."

Moody nodded as McGonagall made a noise that couldn't be classified. "The Ministry truly thinks that those people are still alive," Moody grumbled angrily. "I found evidence that Mia Hanson was dead, but because I didn't have a body they dismissed it all. They're in denial, Dumbledore. They think that nothing bad is ever going to happen as if Dark Magic didn't exist!" Moody slammed his fist on Dumbledore's desk angrily.

"I know, Alastor, I know," Dumbledore said softly. He looked over to McGonagall. "What is your take on all of this, Minerva?"

For the first time in her life, Professor McGonagall did not sound stern and powerful, but meek. "A war is brewing, isn't it?" she said.

Dumbledore nodded. "And the Ministry of Magic is not about to do anything to stop it," he added.

"We can do this, Dumbledore," Moody said in his growl-like voice. "We have to. I took an oath to protect wizards and witches from the likes of this maniac who's gaining power. I'm not about to just break that oath just because the idiots that made me _take_ it are too stupid or too stubborn to acknowledge what's going on out there. One way or another, I'm taking this head on. I refuse to skate around it until it gets too bad to handle like my less than esteemed colleagues."

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Alastor," he said, "who else feels as you do?"

"The Prewett brothers know what's going on," Moody said. "They were never stupid by any means, as you know, Albus. Caradoc Dearborn would help with anything I told him to…there's Elphias Doge as well."

"Would you be able to contact all of these people securely if we were to decide, tonight, to take some sort of action?"

"Dumbledore, I'm a Ministry Auror," Moody said simply.

Nodding, Dumbledore said, "Very well. Minerva, would you be willing to do anything if we decided to take some sort of action tonight?" He was giving her a chance to say no, knowing that he couldn't force anybody to do anything, especially if it was going to be going directly against the Ministry of Magic.

"I am with you one hundred percent, Albus," McGonagall said resolutely.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "If the Ministry refuses to face the problem at hand, we will form a small band of only the best witches and wizards. It will have to remain a secret from the Ministry, of course, or they _will_ shut us down."

"What do I tell the others as to the main purpose of this group?" Moody questioned.

"We can't bring him down ourselves," Dumbledore said. "There will not be enough of us to do that…our purpose is simply to do what the Ministry will not do."

Nodding, Moody asked one more question. "What are we going to call this little group, then?"

McGonagall spoke up now. Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's pet phoenix, had just burst into the room in flames, carrying a message for the headmaster. "How about The Order of The Phoenix?"


	9. Sorry, I'm Stuck

**Chapter Nine: Sorry, I'm Stuck**

"James, buddy, you need to stop moping around! It's been like, two weeks since she dumped you. Get over it!"

"Sirius, stop speaking before I hurt you…go bury a bone while the grown-ups talk," Remus said, pushing Sirius out of James' bedroom. Closing the door, he turned back to James. "What our…less than intelligent friend means to say is that maybe going out tomorrow will help take your mind off of Terry."

"I don't want to go on a date with anyone, Moony," James said. "_Especially_ not with Sirius around. He just doesn't _get_ it sometimes."

"He's got a thick skull, try not to hold it against him."

"I know…and I know he cares." James sighed. "I told her I loved her and the response I got was 'I'm leaving you.' I'd just like some time…"

Nodding, Remus took a seat on James' bed. "Okay, listen…I'm going to do this, but _only _because it's for you, got it?" James nodded as Remus took a deep breath. "I will go in your place."

"You don't have to do that, Moony!" James knew how much Remus _hated_ being around Sirius when Sirius was around a female…

"I will take this bullet for you, James Potter, because I love you…but you have to do something for me," said Remus, smirking. "Believe me, it'll be much less painful than being in the Three Broomsticks tomorrow night with Sirius Black and a couple of fifth year Hufflepuff girls."

"Anything!"

"Talk to Lily," Remus said simply. "She came to me last week. She was trying to be friendly with you this year-as you may remember, she was quite nice about you getting Head Boy-but she said it blew up in her face with a misunderstanding…wouldn't tell me what that was, but I'm guessing that you know. She's been going through some tough times lately and if you'd just go talk to her, it'd make your work together this year a lot easier, thereby making her life a bit more forgiving. So, you talk to Lily about whatever misunderstanding you had and I'll take your place on 'date night' this week…deal?"

---

"Writing notes to your boyfriend?"

"My father actually," Lily corrected as James jumped on the couch from behind. She placed her letter on the coffee table along with her quill.

"I should take a page out of your book," James said, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "I need to write to my dad and Grams."

"Yes…your grandma lives with you, right?"

James nodded, adding, "And Sirius."

"Sirius lives with you and your family?"

"Yep, ever since we were eleven," James said. "He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but he's my brother and I love him." He sighed. "It's been me, Grams, Sirius and Dad…just the four of us since my mom died."

"I'm sorry," Lily said automatically.

"Yeah…anyways, my dear Mo-Remus came to me yesterday and made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"And what was that?" Lily inquired.

"Well, Sirius has been lining new dates up for me ever since Terry and I am just _not_ interested. Remus agreed to go in my place tonight-which is torture for the poor man-if I came here and talked to you about, quote, whatever misunderstanding we had…unquote."

"You really don't like going out on Fridays with him, do you?" Lily said quietly, hoping she wouldn't offend him again because she didn't mean to the first time. She was seeing a side of him that she didn't know existed…maybe he wasn't an egotistical bastard, an immature jerk…

"No, that's Sirius' game," James said. "He's always been the one to set up 'date night.' At first I thought it was neat that all these girls liked us and stuff, but…I don't know…I guess I just kind of…grew up.

"Last year on one of his little 'date nights' Sirius set me up with Terry and we hit it off. We started seeing each other regularly…now I know that she just wanted to be able to say she had sex with James Potter. It just sucks because I fell in love…I loved her. I don't know…I think I still do. I'm not sure if that's what the pain means. I've never been in love before."

"I'm sorry that I insulted you that night," Lily said, still speaking quietly. "I really didn't mean it in the way you thought I did."

"Yeah, I know," James said. "Hey, thanks for not ratting me out with the whole drunk thing." Lily smiled. "Lily, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure…"

"Why have you suddenly decided to be friendly toward me?" James asked awkwardly. "I mean…after so long…"

Lily sighed, her shoulders sagging. "I've been going through some tough family stuff," she said slowly…quietly. "I…I've come to realize that life's short and there's not enough time for all of this hatred. It's not worth it."

"Well, I'm glad," said James. Quickly he added, "I-I mean, not that you're going through bad times at home…just that…I'd really like to be your friend, Lily." Lily smiled. "Er…if I'm not being too nosey," James went on after a moment, "what's going on at home?"

Again, Lily's shoulders sagged under the weight of her emotions. For the first time, James was seeing her as a human being…not _Evans_, the royal pain in the ass, but _Lily_. Lily began to twiddle her thumbs, staring at them as if they were the most amazing thing in the world.

"My dad is really sick," she finally said. "It's cancer…he's been getting worse and worse and…I just…I'm afraid to lose him. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him, and what makes it scarier is that I _know _that I'm going to have to say goodbye soon. I'm scared that I won't ever see him again because of school. James, how am I supposed to deal with that? I mean…your mom died while you were-oh God, that was _so _out of line. I am sosorry!"

Lily, who had begun to cry, was speaking very fast, so James had to speak quite loudly in order to break her rhythm.

"Lily! It's okay!" he said. "Yes, my mom passed while school was in session…I wish you wouldn't have asked about it just because…well…it really hurts when you're stuck here and a loved one passes on. I don't want to lie to you about that."

James put a hand on Lily back to comfort her as he continued to speak. "There is definitely no easy way to say goodbye, _especially _to a parent. And I can't even tell you to make the most of the time you have left because you're stuck here. It's never easy and your situation makes it a _lot_ harder…listen, I'm always here if you need an ear or, you know, whatever. I know you've got Alice and Patricia, but if you ever need me, I'd be more than happy to lend an ear, or a hand…or a foot."

Lily chuckled slightly and thanked him. "So…" she finally said. "Are we…friends?"

Nodding, James said, "Yeah…yeah, I like the sound of that. Lily Evans and James Potter…_friends_. Sounds good."

"Good," Lily said. "I'm glad."

"Would you like to abuse our positions as Head Students to visit the kitchens without having to _sneak _around the corridors? I don't know about you, but I could go for a snack and some hot cocoa right about now."

---

The next morning, Remus Lupin could be found pacing outside of James' bedroom door, waiting for him to wake up. When the door opened, however, he found not James Potter, emerging but Lily Evans.

"Okay, I know I told him to be friendly, but Jesus Christ!" Remus exclaimed.

"It's not what you're thinking, Remus!" Lily said. "I swear, I can explain! Look in here…" She led Remus into James' bedroom where a huge blanket fort had been erected. "We were making smores and camping…I fell asleep on his bed to he slept on the floor."

"Right…" Lily blushed furiously. "Anyway, would you like to get some breakfast with James and myself?"

"If you don't mind waiting for a few minutes for me to shower and stuff, yeah."

Remus nodded, so Lily left for her bathroom. With a smile that he couldn't seem to get rid of Remus moved toward The Fort. Inside, James was indeed sleeping on the floor. Remus bent down and shook his friend violently.

"Get off!" James mumbled angrily. "Why'd you do that?"

Remus sat upon James' bed as James lifted himself off of the floor. "I told you to be friendly toward her, Prongs, and the next thing I know she's coming out of your room in the morning. Tell me…tell me now."

"Nothing happened!" James said quickly.

"No no no, that part I got. What _else_ is there to say?"

"Oh." James blushed and Remus rolled his eyes. "Well," he began as he stretched, "I apologized for the whole 'misunderstanding' and we got to talking. She told me about what's going on at home and then we got cocoa from the kitchens. When we came back here I came up with the idea of building an awesome fort to cheer her up. We used our wands to cook smores and we talked…she's funny and intelligent. It was nice to have a good conversation."

"I'm glad," said Remus. "I hope you _really_ enjoyed yourself last night, Prongs, because that girl I went out with for you is now _stalking_ me." James laughed. "I'm serious, James!" Remus exclaimed. "She was camped out outside of Gryffindor Tower when I came out for Merlin's sake! She followed me! It took four shifting staircases and a couple of secret passages to lose her just so that I could come here…I've never been more happy to be a Marauder in my life! It's a good thing we found all of those passageways."

"Get Sirius to call her off," James suggested. "He's usually pretty good at that."

"Oh come on, James, it's Saturday. We both know full well that, wherever he is sleeping last night off, he won't emerge until like…three or four." Remus shook his head in disapproval. "Sickening…anyway, get dressed, we're going to breakfast with Lily."

---

_Hey, all. I hope that was an enjoyable chapter. If you have a minute and want to be really awesome, I'd love to get some feedback on a one-shot I wrote last night. It's incredibly short, but I thought it was cute. It popped into my head so I felt that I needed to write and post it. It's called "My Sweetest Downfall." Thanks!_


	10. No News Is Bad News

_I. Am. So. Sorry. This update is **really** late… I woke up late today and had to run to a performance class then I had finals…oh what a mess! I haven't even eaten anything… Anywho, Chapters 10 and 11 for your reading pleasure. Sorry again!_

**Chapter Ten: No News Is Bad News or Interlude No. 1.5**

_Muggle Massacre Catches Ministry Attention_

_October 3rd_

_The Ministry of Magic released a statement last night concerning a great tragedy for both the magical and the muggle community. According to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's Bartimius Crouch, at nearly midnight last night, dark wizards apparated into a small muggle village in the north and began to murder random people for no apparent reason. No survivors could be found in the village. _

_Above the town square, a shining skull with a snake coming from its mouth was cast into the sky. According to the Ministry, it is too early at this point to know what it means, but speculations at The Daily Prophet say that it is the mark of a new dark power. When the Ministry knows more, so will the public, or so we are told._

_What was the Ministry of Magic thinking? They have now confirmed that all of the disappearances of muggles and muggleborn witches and wizards were connected, and now they are saying that this is another connection. Do we have an overlord on our hands? The Ministry refused to comment._

James slammed the paper down on the table. The Marauders were sitting together at breakfast along with a very sleepy Lily. Remus took up the paper and began to read the article.

"Am I still a conspiracy theorist?" James said angrily.

Lily was the next one to take the newspaper. Remus sipped his orange juice, looking pained. "This isn't good," he finally stated.

"No kidding," James said sadly. "Those poor muggles…if the Ministry wasn't so stupid, so lazy…"

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of the first class period and cutting the conversation short.

The 'Muggle Massacre,' which is what everyone was calling it, ate at James all day. He couldn't understand why wizards, his own kind, would want to murder defenseless muggles.

By the Evening Edition, the Prophet had gotten more information out of the Ministry of Magic. They had printed the name of the man that claimed responsibility for the Massacre, but only once. They were calling him _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_…his name was Voldemort.


	11. Interlude No 2

**Chapter 11: Interlude No. 2**

_Dear Lily,_

_Hello, dear! I hope that school is going well and your Head Girl duties-that is what it is called, right?-are going well also. I hope things are working out with that boy you are working with. _

_I'll tell you this, dear. We miss you around here! It's too quiet without you bustling around the kitchen whipping up all sorts of deliciousness. Jonathan says that my cooking isn't as good as yours… I tell you, Lily, if I didn't love him so much, I'd have pushed him right out of the bedroom window! …no, I would never do that._

_Unfortunately, though, this letter isn't really as happy as I opened it up as. He's back in the hospital, Lily. He didn't want to go, but he had to. The doctors say that he may be allowed back home, but they don't know yet…they will know more later._

_If they say that your father can't go home, you need to be prepared for what is going to happen. I tried to discuss it with him, but he refuses to even discuss the issue. His mind is made up… If they tell him that he needs to live in a hospital, Jon is going to go home and that will be that. I'm sorry, Lily…there is a good chance that we're nearing the end of the struggle. He isn't giving up, Lily…you need to know that. Don't be mad at him for giving up because he isn't. You understand, don't you?_

_Please don't get too upset just yet, dear. Nothing is certain yet… As soon as we know more, I'll write to you._

_Keep your chin up and enjoy your last year of school, alright? Your father wants me to tell you that he loves you more than life itself, and I do as well._

_Love,_

_Paula_

---

"Thanks for helping me with this, James. I was having a lot of trouble…I don't know how I'm going to pass the N.E.W.T…."

"You'll be fine, Pete," James said encouragingly. "We'll keep working together and you'll pass just fine."

With a smile and one last thank you to James, Peter turned up one of the staircases to their right, rushing to reach the top before it decided to switch places. James continued on his path. Less than five minutes later, he found himself entering his dormitory feeling properly wiped out.

"Evenin', Lily," he said as he stumbled into the common room. He had tripped over his open shoelace.

James stooped down to correct the problem. It wasn't until he had tied his laces and was halfway to his bedroom door that he realized that Lily hadn't replied. She was laying on the couch in front of the fire, unmoving. Doubling back, James dropped his bag in the middle of the room.

"Lily?" he said, approaching her. "Are you alright, Lily?"

When he had made it to the couch, he saw that Lily had trails of tears running down her face. James lifted Lily's upper half off of the couch so that he could sit down and then placed her down on his lap. "What's the matter?" he inquired.

Lily raised her fist, which had previously been hanging down near the floor, and out of it, James pulled a piece of muggle notebook paper. He smoothed it as best he could and read it quickly. "Oh Merlin…Lily…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Lily said quietly. Her voice cracked and as it did, so did James heart. He truly felt for the girl.

"Okay," was all that he could say on the subject. "How about some hot cocoa?" he offered. "Or butterbeer…or firewhiskey…anything?"

"No thanks."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

Lily sat up. She turned to look James straight in the eye…hers were bloodshot from the crying that she had done.

"Hug me," she said desperately. "Hug me really tight, and do not let go."

---

_Yeah…those were both really short… Sorry. I'm off to the library to do more studying…kill me please._

_Thanks!_


	12. Why We Fight

**Chapter Twelve: Why We Fight**

Lily found it strange that she had disliked James Potter for so many years. She berated herself for letting the rumors of Hogwarts shape her opinion of the young man that was now seated to her left in Advanced Transfiguration, a class in which she was now doing _much_ better in thanks to his help.

He wasn't really any of those things that people said about him. He was kind and caring. He valued his friends and family above all else. Yes, he did act immaturely from time to time, but so does everyone and Lily could forgive him for that. Most of all, and the most important thing of all to Lily, James Potter was heartbroken. To her, this proved that he wasn't the player that his best friend was…he was a sensitive, caring person.

Perhaps that was why she wasn't surprised that they had become good friends in such a short amount of time. They lived together, so much of their time was spent in each others company. They helped each other with homework, made routine hot cocoa runs and had fun making the blanket fort in James' bedroom more and more elaborate. More importantly, Lily felt comfortable talking to him about her father.

Lily began to spend more and more time with James and less time with Patty and Alice. James was spending more time with Lily than he was with the other Marauders. The only one out of the Marauders and the two girls who didn't seem to mind was Remus. Sirius was convinced that this was because Remus was often included in Lily and James' doings, but because Sirius and Peter were not thrilled with the fact that Lily Evans walked this Earth, they were often left out. Peter was used to it, but it was driving Sirius mad.

---

It was nearing the end of October and the students were becoming more and more excited. Halloween was approaching quickly, which meant a great feast, and the two Head Students were trying to decide what should be done for the school to celebrate. James and Lily were walking around outside of the castle discussing the matter. It was a somewhat chilly Friday night, but the sky was clear and the castle was too stuffy for their tastes.

"On Halloween, muggles go trick-or-treating," Lily was saying. James looked extremely confused about the whole concept of a Muggle Halloween. "You dress up in a costume and kids go door to door and knock. When the person answers the door, you say, 'Trick-Or-Treat!' and the person in the house gives you some candy."

"So…what is the 'trick' part of that about?" James questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, it's basically a threat," Lily said slowly. "If you don't give me candy, I will…prank you."

James' face lit up. "That's awesome!" he said like a little kid. "Muggles know how to do it right!"

Lily chuckled and shook her head slightly at his excitement.

"You know…we could have everyone make costumes!" James exclaimed excitedly. "They can enter a contest and the professors can judge it…the winner gets a load of candy…or something. That could be fun!"

"I can get into that," said Lily. "I haven't been in a Halloween costume since I was ten years old."

"We'll tell Dumbledore tomorrow and he can announce it at dinner," James said, smiling.

The pair continued at a somewhat slow pace. Companionable silence consumed them as they strolled the grassy grounds. James became lost in thought and found himself getting a bit depressed. The more he thought, the slower he walked. At one point, James just stopped walking.

Lily, who had still been walking, stopped when she noticed that James was no longer beside her. Turning, she saw that he had sat down on the grass and was staring up at the stars.

Lily strolled back to James and sat next to him. She smiled as she looked up at the sky. "It's a really clear night out," she observed.

"Mmhmm." James laid spread-eagled on his back and sighed heavily.

"Are you alright?" Lily questioned concernedly, noticing James' sudden mood change. He nodded, but Lily didn't believe him. "We've been friends for a very short time, James, but I can tell when you're lying to me about something. I don't know how, but I can tell."

James sighed again. He sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He noticed Lily shivering slightly under her cloak, so he removed his own and wrapped it around her. Laying down once again, just like he had the first time, James said, "Can I talk to you about something without you saying anything to the guys? Sirius already thinks I'm 'going soft.'"

"Sirius hates me," Lily said bluntly. "I promise not to say anything to Remus, though."

"Everyone expects me to bounce straight back to what they _think_ is normal James," James began. "In the minds of almost every single student here, even my best mate for Merlin's sake, I should just pick up and move on just because other girls, quote, want me, unquote.

"The truth is, Lily, that Terry Manning broke my heart. I was in love with her and she broke my heart. She did what the stupid rumors say that I do. I could never do that to somebody, Lily. It's a horrible thing to do to someone…what makes it worse for me personally is my quote unquote popularity. I just want everyone to shut up, stop talking about me.

"Sirius doesn't help either…he keeps lining up these stupid date nights as if it's going to make everything alright. He's my best friend…my brother…but he doesn't get it."

Lily laid down next to James, landing unintentionally on his extended right arm. As if it were a reflex, James wrapped the arm around her, drawing her to him. Lily snuggled closer to his body, to the warmth that he seemed to provide.

"I just want someone who wants to be with me because of who I am inside, as clichéd as it sounds. I want someone who I can just, like…talk to. I need a girl that I can trust with my innermost thoughts and secrets and who feels that same way. I want someone who's easy to be with and doesn't want to be physical all the time. I want someone who wants to be with me because they like _me_, not someone who just wants to be with 'the infamous James Potter.'"

"We're still young, James," Lily said quietly. "You'll find her."

The pair fell into yet another companionable silence, each admiring the constellations. What neither cared to notice was that they seemed to fit together perfectly…that Lily had snuggled herself as close to James as she could possibly get…that he, with his right arm wrapped around her, silently encouraged it…that they were able to talk to each other…that Lily knew that he wasn't 'the infamous James Potter,' he was just James…just James.

The silence was broken sometime later by an all too familiar voice calling out James' name. Averting his gaze from the stars, James saw Sirius running toward himself and Lily.

"James Xavier Potter, come! Come now!" Sirius exclaimed, skidding to a halt in front of the pair.

"Sirius…my middle name is _not_ Xavier."

"I know, I know," Sirius said dismissively.

"Then why-"

"I just like saying the name Xavier, alright? Come _on._"

"Where am I going, exactly?" James asked, not moving and not appreciating Sirius' ignoring Lily's presence.

"I got us set up for a night with those hot twins from Ravenclaw!" Sirius said excitedly. "We're going to Hogsmeade!"

"No thanks."

"No thanks?" Sirius repeated, eyes wide. "_No thanks?!_ JAMES! _TWINS!_"

"Ask Mo-Remus."

"James," Sirius whined.

"No, Sirius," James said firmly. "I've got my date for tonight right here…my hot cocoa date."

"James, you're going soft on me!"

"Listen, Sirius, I'm not interested," James said.

"Ever since you started hanging out with _Evans_ you stopped being you!"

"Merlin, Sirius!" James said. He got to his feet angrily, Lily still laying on the grass and staring up at both boys. "First of all, _Lily_ is right here in front of you! Second of all, you're _really _being an asshole to her and me both. At least Lily understands that I'm not ready to do these stupid date nights and that I never liked them in the first place!"

"Fine!" Sirius shouted. "I'll take Peter! At least Pete will appreciate what I've got for us." Sirius turned to walk away, but froze when James' fist came into contact with his face.

"You're supposed to be my best friend, my _brother_…why can't you _understand_? Why can't you get that I'm hurting or help me out like you're supposed to? Some best friend…"

James pushed past Sirius and began speed walking toward the castle. Sirius stared after him, mentally beating the living crap out of himself. How could he be so selfish? Lily, biting her lip, took one last look at Sirius before scrambling to her feet and running to catch up with James.

Sirius sighed and hung his head.


	13. Yourself For Halloween

_Kind of short…my apologies. I'm hungry._

**Chapter Thirteen: Yourself For Halloween**

Remus sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes and frowning. He was seated in an armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room, leaning back. Sirius was seated on the coffee table in front of him leaning forward and tensely ringing his hands. Remus had honestly seen it coming but hadn't done anything. Frankly, he thought that Sirius had needed to hear it.

"I'm not talking to him for you," Remus said. "You made your own mess and you're going to clean it up."

"I didn't make this mess!" Sirius exclaimed. "This is all Evans' fault." Remus was beginning to get frustrated with his stubborn friend.

"No, Sirius, it is not Lily's fault," he said. "James has really been hurting because of the breakup with Terry. It's so obvious that even Peter noticed it. He'd rather drink hot chocolate on a Friday night with Lily than go to the Three Broomsticks with you and some _stupid_ dates because he is _hurting_. Everyone seems to understand that except for you, and that, Padfoot, is why James is so damn frustrated with you."

Sirius felt so low. He laid down on the coffee table and half yelled, half sighed in frustration. He was angry with himself. If this had been last year, he may have been able to read James better. This year…this year, he was being an ass to his friends…well, mostly to James. As much as Sirius hated to admit it, he was jealous of Lily Evans.

As if reading his friend's tiny mind, Remus smiled slightly. "She's not replacing you," he said.

"Then why can he talk to her and not me?"

"Because she's not a jerk," Remus said simply.

Meanwhile, James and Lily were both sitting inside of the fort, sipping hot chocolate and munching on cookies. Lily was feeling bad that Sirius and James had argued, but he had assured her and reassured her that it was alright…that he really would rather be drinking the hot cocoa with her than going out with Sirius.

When Lily left James to go to sleep hours later, she found herself thinking about how much her relationship with James had changed in such a short amount of time. She had gone from hating him to being civil with him to being friends with him…good friends. And at this point she was spending more time with him than with Patty and Alice. James was easy to talk to because he _listened_ instead of trying to cheer her up all of the time. He let her feel instead of forcing her to cover things up.

As strange as it was…she was happy with it.

---

Suddenly, sixth year seemed to be happening all over again. The few differences were that Sirius and James were fighting while _Remus_ stayed neutral. To everyone's surprise, Peter took sides with Sirius…at least this time no one was in danger of dying, right?

The stress of the whole thing was really taking its toll on James. Lily had now become his personal alarm clock because he wouldn't get himself out of bed. She had seen him go from relatively happy to extremely depressed in a flash that left her extremely confused. She would watch him exchange little sideways glances with Sirius during classes only to disappear before Sirius could approach him.

Halloween was a welcome relief. The night prior to it found Lily and James sitting in their common room putting the finishing touches on their costumes. "I'm going to try mine on," Lily said, storing a needle and thread in her sewing kit. "Be honest when you see it, okay?"

"Of course."

As Lily left to try on the costume, James finished his. He was dressing up as Remus' furry little alter ego Moony. As this crossed his mind, he thought of the coming full moon, which just happened to fall on Halloween. He wasn't going to let the argument between himself and Sirius get in the way of helping Remus, he just wasn't sure how it would go.

When Lily reemerged, her hair was no longer its stunning auburn color, but blonde. Her eyes were now blue, matching the blue and while dress and the headband that she was wearing.

"If you hadn't have come out of your own room, I'd say that's not you, Lily Evans," James said, standing. He smiled as she did. "So…I give up," he said finally, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Who are you?"

"Wizards," Lily mumbled, shaking her head. "I'm Alice from the movie…Alice In Wonderland." When James said nothing, Lily sighed and admitted defeat. "Do I at least _look_ good?"

"You look great."

Halloween brought everything from trolls to pixies to famous Quidditch players to the halls of Hogwarts. Even some of the professors had gotten into the spirit of things. Professor Dumbledore was dressed up like Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall had decided to spend the day in her animagus form-a cat. Professor Flitwick was on stilts and dressed as a clown.

The Halloween Feast was as fabulous as any Hogwarts feast is expected to be, plus a whole lot of sweets.

Lily sat in her spot next to James. Patty, Alice and Remus were all across from the pair, Sirius and Peter opting to sit farther down the table.

"Silence!" Dumbledore called. "Silence, please…thank you." He smiled, opening his arms to the students. "Happy Halloween! This is, as many of you may know, one of my all time favorite holidays…I cold candy." The old man chuckled along with a few of the students.

"I believe that quite a few of you have been chosen by our Head Students-ten each, I believe-to compete in the costume competition! So if they would just come right on up here…"

Dumbledore stepped down as Lily and James made their way up the Gryffindor table.

"After you," James said, smiling through his werewolf mask at Lily.

---

"I can't believe you nominated me!" James was saying as he shook his head. He and Lily were carrying a, quote unquote, buttload of candy through the portrait and into their common room.

"Your costume was so good!" said Lily, dumping some of the sweets onto the coffee table. She took a chocolate frog and began to unwrap it. "It was so incredibly lifelike!"

James chuckled, throwing his wolf mask into his bedroom. "Are you up for some early cocoa tonight?" he asked. "I think I'm going to turn in early afterwards."

Nodding, Lily used her wand to fix her hair and eyes.


	14. A Hard Day's Night

_Woah…as of yesterday, I'm done with the Fall 2006 semester. I had a get rid of all things I'm not supposed to have wink wink party last night…and now I'm packing (or I will be after I post this because it was more important than packing!) I leave around 8am tomorrow morning for the craptastic journey home and I won't be updating for a little bit. Look for an update around Monday. I love you guys! Thank you for reading and reviewing!_

**Chapter Fourteen: A Hard Day's Night**

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs…freedom at its finest. As James roamed the Forbidden Forest as Prongs, he felt better than he had in a long while. He had snuck out of the common room when Lily was in the bathroom to pick up Sirius and Peter. He and Sirius hadn't shared any words, they just snuck out of the castle under the cover of James' invisibility cloak.

Sometimes, James just wished that he could stay in his animagus form…forever. As Prongs, he felt so free both physically and emotionally. Prongs didn't have to deal with Dark Magic spreading or Head responsibilities of friendship problems…

It wasn't until the sun was visible on the horizon that James stumbled into his bedroom. He threw himself onto his bed and was asleep before he could as much as remove his glasses.

When Lily entered his bedroom to wake him up, she smiled softly to herself. _He really must have been tired yesterday, _she thought. His hair was sticking every which way. His glasses were half on, half off of his face, and he was still wearing his clothes form the previous night.

"James," she said softly, shaking him by the shoulder. "Rise and shine, James Potter."

"No," James mumbled into his pillow.

"Come on, James, it's time to wake up." Lily shook him a bit harder. "Rise and shine."

James cracked an eye and stared at the blurry figure towering over him. "I'm too tired," he said groggily.

"James, you went to bed _early_ last night," Lily said exasperatedly. "Are you getting sick? Maybe you should go up to the Hospital Wing."

As she said these words, James' mind kicked into gear. He needed to get up and he needed to go see Remus in the Hospital Wing. Slowly, James sat up and reached for his glasses. "Maybe you're right," he said, still a bit groggy. "You go on ahead to breakfast; I'm going to go see Madame Pomfrey."

Nodding, Lily smiled warmly at James before leaving him for the Great Hall and breakfast. James scrambled out of bed, tripping over his own comforter as he did so. He quickly showered and dressed. As he made his way up to the Hospital Wing, he tied his tie and tried not to trip over his shoelaces.

Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen-_thank Merlin_-when James entered the Hospital Wing. He walked down to the very end of the ward where his friend lay. Remus was the only student in the Infirmary this time around.

"Private party, eh?" James said, smiling. He pulled his chair up to Remus' bedside, just like he always did.

"Morning."

"Morning, Moony. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've died, but they brought me back to life just so I can feel the pain of what happened to my body to cause my own death."

"…ouch."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Remus moaned. He sighed. "How about you?"

"Fine. A bit tired, but I've got History first thing, so all is well."

"I meant with Sirius," Remus said as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. "You both came out last night…"

"No, Moony," James sighed. "We went out for you, not because we're speaking to each other."

"James-"

"Remus."

"-this is beginning to scare me."

"Well, I'm sorry, mate," James said a bit more angrily than he meant to. "Sorry," he added. "When he can grow up a bit, I'll know and all will be well."

"Great," Remus groaned. "This will take _years_ before it's resolved."

James and Remus both laughed, James shaking his head. On the inside, though, he was bothered…he was bothered because he knew that it was true.

"You know, James," Remus said after a moment. "Ever since you found out I am what I am, you've come to the Hospital Wing to visit me _every time_ I'm in it…I really enjoy our little heart to hearts."

James grinned and chuckled.

"It's strange…" Remus continued. "We probably talk more at this point once a month than the rest of the month combined, you know?"

"Yeah…" James said, giving it a bit of thought. "Maybe it's just because we don't have Peter and Sirius distracting us…they're too busy stuffing their faces with eggs and bacon."

"James…thank you. Thank you for being such an amazing friend to me. I don't know what made me think about it, but I have been thinking a lot lately. So thank you."

"Up for some breakfast? I can get the House Elves and we can continue our weird tradition of after-moon heart to hearts."

Remus laughed at his friend as he nodded. He decided that he couldn't be luckier.


	15. No Good At Saying Sorry

_Being home sucks…I want to go back up to school…like, right now…RIGHT NOW!_

_Anywho…_

_This one's for Suddy…noticer (not that that is a word) of small things. I just hope I do a good enough job now that I know you're **really, really **paying attention, Suddy!_

**Chapter Fifteen: No Good At Saying Sorry (One More Chance)**

Lily made one last sweep through the Entrance Hall. Her rounds were now complete and she was absolutely exhausted. She had been awake until nearly four a.m. the previous night writing essays. None of the work she did was due that day-or that week for that matter-but she found it impossible to fall asleep for unknown reasons. She awoke at six to have a shower and get ready. Classes felt like they had lasted for forever that day, then dinner, then reading and finally, duty rounds.

Lily yawned and was thankful to feel sleep nagging at her. Her journey back to the common room was a sleepy one, with Lily basically dragging herself alone the corridors.

The normally bustling hall of Hogwarts which sometimes seemed to have a life of their own seemed strangely creepy at this time of the night. Not one person was in sight, and so the only sounds that Lily could hear were her own slow, heavy footsteps. She found the desertion of the castle strangely comforting…

"Psst, Lily!"

Lily nearly jumped out of her skin. Her hand immediately found her wand. "Lumos," she hissed. Her muscles relaxed, but her heart was still beating wildly, when she saw Sirius emerge from the shadows, his hands up. Lily lowered her wand and took a deep breath to try to slow her heart rate. "What the hell are you doing here at this hour?" she demanded. "I could have you in a detention for this…Nox."

"I come in peace," Sirius whispered. "I haven't done anything wrong tonight, save coming out to find you."

"And nearly frighten me to death!" Lily added, hand on her heart. Sirius smiled sheepishly. She began to walk again, continuing on her journey to her warm, cozy bed. "Why were you looking for me?" she questioned when Sirius followed her.

"I just…I was wondering if I could have a word…"

"Well, you have my full attention until I get to my dormitory, so talk quickly. I am _beyond_ tired."

"Er, right…" Sirius said, running a hand through his hair just like a nervous James did. "I wanted to…I want to apologize to you, Lily." Lily stopped dead in her tracks, turning slowly to face the taller young man. "I'm sorry for what I said that night by the lake," Sirius continued. "Not only was it out of line, but it was disgustingly mean. It was so easy for me to blame you for the changes that are happening all around me, but you had nothing to do with it. I've had my head up my ass and…it's just that…our little group, me and the guys that is, we haven't been the same since I had that fight with Remus last year. It changed us all in a way, I think. We just…we just haven't been the same since, and since you came into the picture around the same time, it was easy to blame you. I need to just…I need to talk to the guys about fixing that, but… listen, I am really sorry about the way I've treated you, and I hope that we can sort of…bury the hatchet and be friends…maybe. "

Sirius held out his hand to Lily, hoping that he had done a good enough job with his apology, because he truly meant it. He had even practiced it by himself in the dormitory bathroom, looking into the mirror and making sure that he'd be able to look Lily in the eyes.

Lily blinked a few times. As she reached out to shake Sirius' hand, she felt, in a way, relieved. Maybe now James and Sirius would start talking again. Poor James was so upset at the absence of his best friend…but he was stubborn as an angry mule.

"I accept your apology, Sirius Black," Lily said slowly as she let his hand go. "Now I hope we can put all of this past us…I think we could be good friends if you give it the chance I'm willing to give it."

With a smile that only the one and only Sirius Black could deliver, the boy nodded and wished Lily a good night. She wished him the same and the two parted ways. Lily smiled as she approached the portrait to her common room…maybe things were starting to look up a bit.

---

The wind rushing by his ears was next to deafening. He doubted that he had ever gone this fast before…the rain felt as if it were cutting into his skin when each tiny drop hit his face. He was approaching the makeshift finish line, leaning flat to the handle and willing his broom to push its own limits.

James crossed the finish line followed closely by his Seeker, Emmeline Vance. As they both pulled up, James threw his head back and let the rain soak him to the bone. Emmeline pulled up next to him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"You did well," James said, watching Sirius and Frank Longbottom play around with a Bludger. "You still need to work on your speed some more, but you're getting there."

"I worked on everything you told me to do over the summer," Emmeline, a sixth year, said. "I'm glad I've made the team and I'm willing to work on anything and everything…any suggestions?"

"You need to, cheesy as it sounds, become one with your broomstick," James said, catching the Quaffle as it was thrown his way. He passed it back as his fellow Chasers flew passed and toward the Keeper. "Lean into the handle…let the broom fuse itself to your body. Make yourself as flat as you can and let the broom do the work. If you feel it, you can do it…and if you beat me next week in a race, I'll buy you drinks next Hogsmeade weekend."

Emmeline laughed as she nodded. Once she flew off to search for the Snitch, James joined the Chasers in their passing exercises.

"He is quite good," Lily remarked to Remus and Peter. The three of them were sitting in the stands. Remus had needed to come out to take notes on the new Seeker for James, so he asked Lily to keep him company. Peter tagged along because he had nothing better to do and was trying to, at Sirius' odd suggestion, move onto Lily's better side.

"James is the _best_!" Peter exclaimed. "I'd be surprised if he didn't get contract offers from professional scouts this year."

"It's true," said Remus, following Emmeline Vance with his keen eyes. "James could join the pro-circuit after Hogwarts. Sirius isn't half bad either."

"The new Seeker is good," Peter commented after a moment.

"Emma never played Quidditch before a few months ago," said Remus as he scribbled something on the parchment that was resting on his lap. "She'd always wanted to play and knew that Dunbar was graduating. She went to James and he helped her develop her skills…hopefully it'll pay off."

"He's stopping practice," Peter said, getting to his feet.

Remus rolled up the parchment and slipped it into his bag along with his writing utensils. "Shall we get to dinner? I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

"Didn't you actually do that once?" Peter asked without thinking about the company that he was in.

"Don't be stupid, _Peter_," Remus said pointedly. He offered his arm to Lily and she linked up with him. The three went off to supper.

James along with most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered the Great Hall a bit late. James headed over to Lily, Peter and Remus, taking his seat next to Remus. "What do you have for me, Remus?" he asked excitedly.

Remus pulled out the roll of parchment that he had prepared for James between bites. "I think you'll be pleased with everything," he said. "She's going to do the team well."

"Perfect," James muttered as he scanned Remus' notes. "Never be afraid to take a chance on someone!"

As James begun to load his plate with dinner, Lily scanned the entirety of the Gryffindor table. "Where's Sirius?" she questioned James.

The dark-haired boy shrugged, saying, "I don't know."

"James, has Sirius said anything to you at all this week?" Lily inquired, a thought crossing her mind.

"Nope."

"James, Sirius apologized to me," Lily said bluntly. "He found me while I was on my rounds earlier in the week and he _sincerely apologized_ for what he said and for how he acted…I would have thought he would have done the same to you."

James' eyes lit up. "He went to you all by himself and apologized?" he said, stunned.

"I didn't know anything about this," Remus said, equally as surprised.

Without warning, James popped out of his seat. Abandoning his dinner, he left the Great Hall quickly.

"There's hope for him yet," Remus said happily, referring to Sirius. "More importantly, there's hope for the Marauders. Thank Merlin."

James found Sirius in the seventh year boys' dormitory up in Gryffindor Tower. Sirius was laying on his bed, flipping through a tattered copy of Quidditch Through The Ages half-heartedly and drinking from a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey.

"A bit early to be hitting the bottle, eh?" James said, closing the door behind him as he stepped into the room.

"Depends…" Sirius mumbled.

"You know, I could have you kicked out for this," James commented amusedly, sitting on Peter's bed which was the one next to Sirius'. Sirius merely nodded. "Is this what you've been doing with yourself?" James questioned…another nod. "Lily just told me that you found her and apologized…"

"I did," Sirius said simply. He closed the book and let it slip onto the floor before taking another swig from his bottle. He held it out to James, who accepted it and took a few big-brave-gulps of the fire whiskey. He handed the bottle back to Sirius, who took one more swig before capping the bottle and pushing it under his bed.

"Love that stuff," James stated.

"Me too," Sirius said.

A deafening silence filled the room, making James fish through his brain for something to kill the awkwardness.

"Listen, Sirius-" James said at the exact same time as Sirius said, "James, buddy-"

"Go ahead," they both said in unison. "No, you first…I'm sorry, Prongs/Padfoot. It's not all your fault…" Both boys burst out in laughter. They had said every word at the same exact time.

When they had finally calmed down quite a few minutes later, James rubbed his stomach which hurt from laughing so hard. "Listen," he said. "Lets pull a prank."

"I love the idea…now give me more."

"This might just be the firewhiskey talking…but lets sneak down to the Slytherin Common Room and stick all of their furniture to the ceiling."

Sirius' hand found its way under his bed and pulled out the firewhiskey again. "I like it when the firewhiskey talks."


	16. Second Chance For Max Headroom

**Chapter Sixteen: Second Chance For Max Headroom**

"I could _not _be more disappointed in you, James. I expect this kind of behavior from Mr. Black, but _you_ are Head Boy." Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk in front of which both boys stood, looking quite ashamed of themselves. "Detention, Friday _and _Saturday night. Meet Mr. Filch at eight p.m. in the Entrance Hall."

"Yes, sir," both boys mumbled, looking at their feet.

"Mr. Black, you are excused." Sirius left the office as quickly as he could. As the door closed behind him, Dumbledore stood and walked over to stand in front of James. "Mr. Potter," he said. "James…this is not acceptable. You are supposed to be a roll model, and instead you're drinking Ogden's and sneaking into Slytherin."

"I'm sorry, sir…" James mumbled.

Dumbledore sighed. "James, I know you're only seventeen, but you have responsibilities here now. Whether you like it or not, you need to step up to the plate."

"I'm sorry, sir," James mumbled again. "I don't know why…I just…I normally…"

"I know, James," Dumbledore said, interrupting James' struggle for words. "You have a lot going for you, James. Try not to screw it all up for a few laughs. I'm giving you one more chance at this…use it."

"Yes, sir. Thank you…so much."

"Back to your dormitory."

---

"So, are you mad at James?" Remus questioned Lily. The pair entered the kitchens as he spoke and Lily requested a few bottled butterbeers from the Elves.

"I don't know…I don't think so," Lily sighed. "It was just so _stupid_ is all…to risk his badge for a drink and a laugh."

"I think he's learned his lesson, at any rate," Remus said. The pair thanked the House Elves as they slipped six bottles of warm liquid into Lily's bag.

"How do you suppose that?" Lily questioned.

"Well, he seems to be punishing himself a bit, no?" said Remus. "He stopped doing anything fun…canceled Quidditch practice when meanwhile we've got a game tomorrow."

"I suppose you're right. He's been avoiding me like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar…"

Remus chuckled heartily as they approached the portrait. "Detention with Filch will straighten him out and then by next week we won't even remember this. And something good _has _come out of it all…Sirius was talking about it before."

"What's that?"

"We all seem to be getting back to normal," Remus explained. "The prank was James and Sirius' way of fixing things."

Lily gave the password and then led the way into the common room where James was sitting at one of the desks. Peter was standing next to James with his wand out and James was correcting his grip. They were working on Peter's Transfiguration homework.

Lily and Remus sat in front of the fire, speaking quietly so as to not disturb the other two boys.

Later that evening, Lily and James were left alone by Peter and Remus. The two boys returned to Gryffindor Tower to remind Sirius of his detention with James and Filch.

"When does your detention start?" Lily asked James as he sat down in the armchair across from hers.

"I have to go down in about twenty minutes."

"You've been avoiding me," Lily decided to say very bluntly.

"I have not!" James said, frowning.

"I'm going through a cocoa withdrawal," Lily pouted.

James averted his eyes to the fire dancing around in the fireplace. "Sorry," he mumbled. Then he sighed, looking back at Lily. "I thought you'd be mad," he confessed. Lily couldn't help but laugh at this seventeen year old boy who was reminding her more and more of a five year old child.

"I wasn't mad until I missed a few days of hot chocolate," Lily said, completely serious.

With a small smile playing on his lips, James shook his head. "Are you still going to be awake when I come back?"

---

"Welcome, Hogwarts, to the first Quidditch match of the season! This is Remus Lupin filling in for Benjy Fenwick for today's game which, by the way, is GRYFFINDOR VERSUS HUFFLEPUFF!"

The crowd went wild as Remus shouted out the team names. Down at the edge of the pitch, James stood in the center of a team huddle. "Okay," he was saying. "We all know what needs to be done, so lets just do it. Have fun, play well and _communicate_! Hands in…one, two, three- LIONS!"

The team lined up, getting ready to be brought in by Remus. Emmeline, who was directly behind James in the line, stood on her toes to whisper into her captain's ear. "I'm nervous."

James turned to her, smiling. "Don't worry about it," he said, a hand squeezing her shoulder lightly. "You're an amazing Seeker and you're going to be an important part of this game-"

"I _SAID_ James Potter, _captain_!" Remus' shouting shook James from his little speech. With one last reassuring smile to Emmeline Vance, he hopped onto his broomstick and kicked off to be received by tremendous applause and shouts.

"And last, but most _CERTAINLY_ not least, making her Gryffindor Lions debut, SEEKER EMMELINE VANCE!" Emmeline was brought in with almost as much applause as her captain. "And now," Remus said, suddenly taking on a bored tone, "the Hufflepuff team…mmhmm."

"Lupin!" McGonagall warned.

"Fine…" said Remus, sighing into the magical megaphone. "Hufflepuff is Keeper Diggory, Chasers Bones, Taylor and Jones, Beaters Prewitt and Meadowes and Seeker slash captain O'Conner."

"You'd better watch it, Lupin," McGonagall said as the Hufflepuff team flew out. Peter, who was sitting next to Remus, was rolling in laughter.

"Okay, Madame Hootch lets the Snitch go!" Remus said. "It's flying around her head…and it is _gone_! Good luck to the Seekers. The Bludgers are released, flying straight up…and Potter shakes O'Conner's hand. The teams re-mount their brooms…the Quaffle is up and so are our players! Vance and O'Conner streak off to search for our little golden friend. Potter grabs the Quaffle right out of Taylor's hands and passes to McGuire. She speeds up the pitch, dodging Prewitt's Bludger and-"

Remus was cut off by Madame Hootch's whistle. "What's that?" he asked. Then he caught sight of Emmeline Vance, hand in the HoHoair and a wild grin on her face. "My God!" Remus exclaimed. "Vance caught the Snitch! How the-WOW! _GRYFFINDOR WINS_! And they've done it before the one minute mark in the match…wow. Go Emma!"

James rushed to the ground where Emmeline was now handling Madame Hootch the Golden Snitch. James tackled the girl from behind in a huge bear hug. The rest of the team dog-piled on their two teammates and in the tangle of limbs, the Gryffindor Lions Quidditch Team fell to the ground, deafened by the cheering of their peers.

---

_This chapter is just a bit on the short side, I'm sorry. We're starting to get into the meat of the story, which I am now, by the way, dedicating to all of you awesome people who came over with me from "An, As of Now, Untitled Story" because you all make me happy. This was just some nice filler. Everyone loves some Quidditch now and then… So, fasten your seatbelts, kids. It's gonna get wild._


	17. Interlude No 3

_Woah… I was going to post this last night and I couldn't find my memory stick! It has everything on it, including many future chapters that I've already written! It was crazy! I found it though…good thing. I almost had a heart attack! Haha. _

_Anyway, enjoy!_

**Chapter Seventeen: Interlude No. 3**

_Dear Diary,_

_It's me again, Lily! Although, now that I think about it, who else would it be? I'm not entirely sure, but whatever. I haven't written in quite some time now, so here I am. There isn't much to say, I suppose. Daddy is getting worse and it is scaring me. A lot. I hope that he doesn't die, Diary…_

_James Potter. I used to write in you about how much I hated James Potter and couldn't stand his presence. Is it funny that we are now practically inseparable? I have been spending way more time with James and the Marauders than with the girls. Though I never would have that that this would be the case, I think it is for the better sometimes. Don't get me wrong, Diary, I enjoy the girl time that I get to have with Patty and Alice. There is just something different about the time that I've been spending with James and the Marauders. As funny as it sounds, I feel like I'm around family when I'm with them. It's like having four brothers._

_It has been a couple of months since I started hanging around the boys and already it is like having an extended family. Even Sirius, who only apologized to me about a month ago…he can really be funny sometimes. Sometimes it is stupid, but sometimes it is funny. He was surprised, as he said, to learn that I posses a sense of humor which I found funny. (I knew he was only joking around when he said it…at any rate, James slapped him in the head for me when he said it.) Sirius is good to have around, in the end. He helps keep my mind off of Daddy. Then, when I can't keep busy, James is an amazing listener. You see, Diary, he doesn't care if I'm upset for the same reasons or if I tell him the same stupid stories…he lets me get it all out which is great. He lets me cry when I need to rather than trying to make me stop crying. He's such a great friend._

_Anywho, then there's Remus. He is also a great listener. And it is nice to be able to have an intelligent conversation with him. Don't get me wrong, James is beyond intelligent, I've come to realize. He would just rather talk about life and/or have some fun than discuss schoolwork or politics (which is FINE!) And then Peter. I still get the feeling that he doesn't like me as much as the other Marauders, but that's okay. We study together sometimes. James helps him with Transfiguration and I help him with Charms. Remus used to help him with Arithmancy, but he dropped the class and decided to put N.E.W.T. Herbology in its place. His best subject is Defense Against The Dark Arts…James says it is because his family is a paranoid bunch._

_Speaking of the Dark Arts, that Voldemort guy has continued to slaughter muggles like cattle. It's really scary. The Ministry isn't doing a damn thing about it either…it's like a magical Adolf Hitler. Dumbledore is furious about it. (I talked to him about it while we were waiting for James for a meeting.) I've got the sneaking suspicion that the headmaster is doing something behind the Ministry's back…oh well, just a conspiracy theory._

_Well, I must dash! James and the boys are ready to go Christmas shopping in Hogsmeade!_

_Yours,_

_Lily Evans_


	18. Free Radicals

_By now, I'm sure you've realized that the chapter titles all have very little to do with the content of the chapter._

**Chapter Eighteen: Free Radicals (A Hallucination of The Christmas Skeleton Pleading With A Suicide Bomber)**

"Jingle bells, Jamie smells and he just laid an egg!" Sirius sung at the top of his lungs as he, James, Remus, Peter and Lily walked down the main road in Hogsmeade along with many other Hogwarts students.

"Sirius, if you don't shut up in two seconds, I am going to curse you so badly that you future _great_ grandkids will feel it," James threatened, pulling out his wand.

"Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree! I'm gonna pick you out with Lily!"

"Does he always do this?" Lily inquired as Sirius began skipping down the street ahead of them, still making up his own little Christmas Carols.

"Unfortunately," said Remus, Peter and James in unison. Remus went on to tell Lily the horror stories of Sirius' past carols.

"So," said James, clapping his hands and rubbing them together to cause warmth. "We've already lost Sirius, so he'll have to figure things out for himself. Lets split up and we'll meet in the Three Broomsticks for a drink at five."

"Synchronize your watches, men and Lily!" Remus exclaimed with a chuckle. "Break!"

Lily waved goodbye to the boys and went off on her own. _What to buy…what to buy…_ she was thinking. She wandered into the Quidditch Shop, deciding to shop for Sirius first.

Having never been in a Quidditch shop herself, Lily was taken aback by how many different…_things_ there were for broomsticks. There were so many different accessories…what did she know about any of it?! She felt a bit intimidated by the inatimate objects.

"May I help you, miss?"

A young man was smiling at Lily from behind the counter. "Yes, maybe you can," she said, smiling and walking over to the counter. "I'm shopping for a Christmas gift for my friend…he's a Beater."

"What type of broom does he have?" the man inquired.

"I have no idea," Lily said, shrugging.

"Okay…do you know if he's got himself an Anti-Burglar Buzzer?" Lily smiled apologetically. "Do you know the type of club he has?"

"Sorry, I don't know _anything_ about Quidditch…"

"Hmm," said the shopkeeper. "Okay, you're a pretty young woman, and we're going out of business soon…so I'm going to make you a good deal."

"Thank you," Lily said, blushing.

"We just got the newest Beater Clubs on the market in last night in our very last shipment ever," said the man, dropping below the counter. When he popped back up, he was holding a short, polished club that had grooves where the hand was to grip it. "This baby is charmed to never lose it's shine, even when you're beating the _hell_ out of a Bludger! The first time he grips it, it will conform to his hand. This club goes for twenty galleons…but I'll give it to you for ten."

Meanwhile, Remus was sitting up in one of the tiny bookshops in town. He was thumbing through a book that he thought would interest James. It was called The Greatest Conspiracy In Quidditch. It was all about the life of an Irish player and how he single-handedly rigged the entire pro circuit. Remus had to admit that was an impressive feat.

Sirius was in the joke shop. Peter was the first on his list and only because he was still trying to decide what to get for James. He knew that Peter had had his eye on the new non-explodable luminous balloons ever since they were merely rumors, but he couldn't really afford them. Sirius, being as generous as he was during the holiday season, bought him four packs.

And then there was James, who found himself wandering passed the windows of numerous shops and dismissing each and every one of them. He was trying to shop for Lily, and he wanted his gift to her to be absolutely perfect. For Sirius he had already picked up three bottles of Ogden's, thanks to an older bloke who needed some extra money. For Remus, James had found a biography on one of the most famous werewolves that had ever lived as well as some socks. James was the only one who knew about Remus' love of socks, and he was pretty sure that Remus was the only one who understood Professor Dumbledore's love of socks.

It was a small Mom-And-Pop type shop that finally caught James' eye. He pushed the door open and as a small bell ran somewhere in the depths of the store, he was greeted by the warmth of the indoors.

"How can I help you today, young sir?" came the voice of an elderly witch as she walked out from the back room.

"Er, maybe," said James. "I'm looking for a gift for one of my best friends for Christmas."

"Tell me about your friend, dear," said the woman as she drew her green cloak tighter around her frail form.

"Well…" James began awkwardly. He ran a hand through his black hair. "Her name is Lily. She's this opinionated, fiery kind of girl, and she can hold her own…but she's not afraid to let her guard down with me, I guess, which is good. See, her dad is really sick, and he's dying…and it's ripping her apart. So I want to get her something amazing…something that will really put her in good spirits before we leave for the holidays."

"How do you feel about this Lily?"

James was caught off guard by this question, so he didn't say anything for quite some time. He just stared at the elderly witch… "Well…" he said finally. "I guess you could say she's like a sister to me."

The old woman nodded and told James to wait for a moment. When she returned, she was holding a small, golden box in her hands. "This," she said, "is something that you may be interested in."

The woman handed James the box. He opened it, being extra careful to not drop the lid. Inside was a small, black compass. "A compass?" James said, unimpressed. "This…isn't exactly what I had in mind…"

"Young man, not everything is what it _appears_ to be," said the old woman. "You should know not to judge a book by its cover. If you buy this item for your Lilt, it will always point her to you. You say that this girl is not afraid to let her guard down around you, and that is special. If she ever needs to find you, she will always be able to do it with this."

James replaced the lid, a wide smile plastered onto his face. "How much?" he asked, pocketing the item as if it had already been purchased.

"I warn you, it won't be cheap," said the old woman. "That piece is quite rare."

"How much?" James repeated determinedly.

---

Lily checked her watch as she exited her final shop for the day-Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop-and saw that it was a quarter to five. Deciding to head to the Three Broomsticks to meet the boys, Lily used her wand to shrink her bags so that they would fit into her cloak pocket.

As she made her way to the Three Broomsticks, Lily spotted Patty and Alice walking ahead of her. With a smile, Lily called their names and ran to catch up with them. "Hey!" she said cheerfully. "Do you two care to join me and the boys for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"

Both girls looked at Lily like they didn't know who she was. Without a word, they both looked ahead and quickened their pace. Lily slowed, staring at their backs as they walked away from her.

"Oi! Lils!" came a very happy James Potter's voice from behind her. She didn't turn to face him, but she did stop walking until he caught up with her. Throwing an arm around his friend, James said, "On your way to the pub?" Lily nodded silently. James frowned. "Are you alright?"

"Patty and Alice just completely ignored my existence," Lily said confusedly. "I think they're mad at me."

"Why would they be?"

"I don't know…" Lily said. She felt tears nagging at her eyes.

Noticing this, James gave her a small squeeze. "Don't let them bother you," he said. "If they're not going to be adult enough to tell you what their problem is, then they're not worth getting upset over…and if you _do _get upset, I'm telling Sirius and he's going to get them both…and he'll get them good, too."

With a small smile, Lily mumbled her thanks to James. With a considerably larger smile, James opened the door to the Three Broomsticks pub and let the redhead walk in ahead of him.

---

_I'm just going to say now that I'm really proud of the next chapter. And you will be too! Haha._


	19. She Moves In Secret Ways

**Chapter Nineteen: She Moves In Secret Ways**

"And now, I turn the meeting over to Miss Evans and Mr. Potter who will be assigning you your Winter Ball duties." With a smile and a wave, Dumbledore left the small meeting room. James suspected that he was off to Hogsmeade to purchase a hefty load of lemon drops, seeing as his bowl of candy had been quite on the empty side earlier that day.

James and Lily both stood and made their way to the place where the headmaster had been standing. "Okay," Lily said as James pulled a roll of parchment out of his bag. "We've assigned certain things to each house. The seventh year prefects will designate _exactly_ what your tasks are, we're just giving you general topics."

James unrolled the parchment and cleared his throat. "Hufflepuff, you take care of the feast and the entertainment. Gryffindor get to deal with the decorations. Slytherin, you take the invitations. One goes to each student in the school, first through seventh year. You know the drill. And…Ravenclaw, you guys get to take care of desserts and coordinate beverage details with Madame Rosmerta."

"James and I will be taking care of everything else as well as supervising all of you."

"Report to us whenever you do something significant. We'll be checking up on you next Thursday at the meeting, and all of this is to be _finished_ two weeks from today. Any questions?" No one made a move. "Alright, then. Have fun with it."

As the rest of the students dispersed, James and Lily organized their notes and put their folders into James' bag. "Hot cocoa?" James suggested with a smile as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

"Sure," said Lily, leading the way out of the meeting room and into the Great Hall. "I hope Remus is feeling better…I think he's the only person who got sick from the lunch food…"

"Yeah…it's weird how that can only happen to one person, eh?" James said, fidgeting with his bag.

"Anywho, I could really go for smores in the blanket fort."

"Fort James, you mean," James said, beaming and happy that the subject was no longer Remus' not-so-mysterious illness and subsequent absence from the prefects meeting. "I have a flag now, so it's official."

Small talk concerning the Winter Ball filled the air as the Head Boy and Girl made their way to the kitchens and then up to their dormitory. As they entered their common room, the talk turned to classes and the upcoming midterms.

James led the way into his bedroom where the ever so elaborate Fort James was still standing. "So," he said, mouth full of smores, "hoe are things going with Patricia and Alice?"

"Not so well," Lily replied after she pointedly swallowed her food which made James smile sheepishly. "I've tried to talk to them, but they're being absolutely ridiculous."

"Did you at least get out of them _why_ they're mad at you?"

Lily nodded, sipping her hot chocolate. "You," she said simply.

"What the hell have I done?!" James exclaimed.

"You stole me," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "It was a stupid argument…like I said, they're being ridiculous. They refused to hang around, quote unquote, those idiots, so it isn't surprising that they haven't seen much of me."

"Do you want me to talk to them?" James offered after swallowing his smores.

"No," Lily sighed. "That would probably just make things worse, James. They're jealous, and I hate it. It isn't like I completely ditched them or anything! For Merlin's sake, I just made some more friends! They've been feeling this way since Remus and I started speaking more last year."

James nodded, understanding. "If there's anything I can do…"

"I'll definitely let you know."

He grinned goofily.

---

It was a cold, windy Saturday evening. Some snow flurries had fallen earlier in the day as the school bundled up to watch Ravenclaw's House Quidditch Team defeat Slytherin three hundred and sixty points to two hundred.

James could be found laying on his bed that night, hands behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. He was waiting for the sounds to cease from the common room. Once Lily was in her bedroom or the bathroom, he would slip out to meet Sirius and Peter in the Entrance Hall. Together they would sneak out onto the chilly grounds. The full moon was upon them.

Lily closed her books, her eyes feeling like they were about to fall out of her head. Studying for midterms was definitely not on her list of favorite things to do, but it had to be done. With a yawn, she stretched, stood and made her way to her bedroom to put all of her books away.

As Lily made her way back out of her bedroom, she saw James leaving the dormitory. She had seen him sneak out this way once before about a month ago, and curiosity was beginning to get the better of her. The Head Girl quickly found her shoes. Pulling them on, she stumbled out into the hall without so much as a sweater to keep her warm and followed the quiet sounds of James' footsteps.

_Why in the world is he going outside?_ Lily wondered from the shadows at the top of the marble staircase as James slipped out of the large front doors. Rushing down the steps and simultaneously double checking that Filch was nowhere to be seen, Lily mimicked James.

The light from the full moon shone over the grounds. Halfway down the lawn, James was jogging next to two other figures. _Sirius and Peter…what are they doing out here at this hour? I could have their asses on a platter for this!_

Lily followed the trio at a distance. She squinted when she saw Peter disappear. _What the…_ The next thing she saw was the Whomping Willow, a usually violent tree, stand suddenly erect…it had frozen. James and Sirius slipped down and out of sight. The shadow of what seemed to be a small animal jumped off of a spot on the tree and disappeared as well.

Lily ran at full speed toward the Whomping Willow Tree but stopped short as it began to move wildly again. Biting her lip, Lily looked around on the ground for a long stick. When she found one that was long enough, she poked the same spot that she had seen the animal jumping off of.

The Whomping Willow froze and Lily began to poke around. She found the hole that James and Sirius' tall forms had slipped down earlier and slipped down it herself.

Landing in a squishy pile of mud, Lily frowned. She'd have to remember to clean her shoes later. She began to make her way down the path, pulling her wand out and whispering, "Lumos!" as she went.

Meanwhile, Prongs, Wormtail and Padfoot were entering the Shrieking Shack. They found their old buddy Moony waiting for them. Moony howled and Padfoot barked happily. Wormtail climbed up and onto Prong and the three animagi prepared to take their wild friend on a run through the Forbidden Forest.

Suddenly, however, Moony began to go crazy. He launched himself at the door and it was all Padfoot could do to keep him in the room. As Wormtail jumped from Prongs' back to the torn up couch next to him, Prongs launched toward Moony and attempted to pull him off of Padfoot.

Padfoot, his nose to the air, sniffed. He smelled a human. While Prongs kept Moony busy, Padfoot stood on his hind legs and opened the door. As soon as he was out, he transformed into Sirius and slammed the door shut. Running toward the tunnel entrance, Sirius was more than surprised when he came face to face with Lily Evans.

"Merlin!" he exclaimed, pushing Lily back into the tunnel. "How did you get in here?! You have to leave _right _now."

"I followed _you_," Lily said authoritatively. "You three could get in _so _much trouble! I'm not leaving until you all come with me."

"I can't," Sirius said, a pained look on his face. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and felt a sticky warm substance.

"Are you _bleeding_?" Lily inquired, a concerned tone replacing her Head Girl one.

"Leave, Lily, please!" Sirius begged as he heard what he was sure was one of his friends-probably Moony-slamming the other-probably Prongs-against a wall. "I promise we'll expl-" Sirius was cut off by the howling of Moony.

"Was th-that a…a…" Lily's face had drained of all color.

"Leave here now and, I _swear_, when we get back I will explain _everything_ to you…just, please, leave!"

Finally, Lily complied. She turned and half-ran out of the Shrieking Shack.

It wasn't until several hours later that James and Sirius entered the Heads' Common Room to find Lily pacing back and forth in front of the dying fire. Peter had chickened out. He had scurried up to Gryffindor Tower the moment they entered the castle.

When Lily heard the two boys come in, her head snapped up. They were both disheveled and bloody. "What the _hell _is going on?!" she demanded.

"Lils-" James began.

"Do _not_ 'Lils' me, you! What is going on here?!"

"You need to keep this quiet," said Sirius.

"We'll see about-"

"For Remus' sake!" At this point, Lily shut her mouth, signaling for Sirius to continue. "Remus is a werewolf," he said slowly, taking in every bit of her reaction.

"The pain he has to endure is unimaginable," James jumped in. "We go out there to…sort of…help him."

"But…but he'd bite you, and-"

"That's the part we'd like you to keep quiet for our own sakes," James cut her off, talking slowly.

"We're…well, we're illegal animagi."

"You're _what_?"

"Illegal animagi," James said quietly as Sirius, with a small pop, transformed into Padfoot.

Lily stared openmouthed at the two boys-well, the boy and the dog-in front of her. "Hoe in Merlin's name…"

With another tiny pop, Padfoot turned back into Sirius. "It took us, what, four years to figure out?" Sirius looked to James who nodded. "I'm still trying to stop my little pop noise from happening. James has it mastered!" He clapped his best friend on the back. As if this were his cue, James silently morphed into Prongs. He walked up to Lily and bowed to her before transforming back into James.

"It was tedious work," he said. "We started as first years…and you know how bad I was with a wand in first year."

"When we finally figured it out, we told Remus what we had been up to," Sirius continued. "He told us not to do it…after all, we were about to break _so _many laws…but we did it anyway."

"Transforming is hell for Remus," James took over. "It's so painful…you honestly can _not _imagine it. On top of that, he's stuck in the Shack and can't hunt like a werewolf's instincts tell him to. With no humans to hunt, he bites and scratches himself…he hurts _himself _out of frustration."

"We couldn't sit by and do nothing."

"He's our best friend."

"So we became unregistered animagi."

"He doesn't hurt himself as much anymore."

"He says that he doesn't _completely_ dread the moon anymore because he knows we're there for him."

"You understand, don't you, Lily?" James pleaded.

Lily, quite overwhelmed at this point, dropped into the nearest seat, attempting to process all of this new information. She sat in silence for quite some time and it was making Sirius nervous. He knelt down in front of her.

"Listen," he said. "Report us as illegal if you have to, but don't say anything about Remus or his condition…please."

Lily bit her lip for a moment, deciding… "I'm not going to report you," she finally said. "And I'm not going to say anything about Remus."

James and Sirius both broke into huge grins of relief. "You're the greatest, Lils!" James exclaimed happily as Sirius tackled the redhead, causing her to fall off of the chair. He must have said the words 'thank you' two hundred times.

She admired how willing they were to sacrifice themselves for Remus' sake, how loyal they were to furry friend, and that they had trusted her enough to tell her the truth rather than invent an elaborate lie.

---

_Happy Longest Chapter So Far._

_I spent a week writing the Lily-Finds-Out scene…and I still don't think it's up to par, but I think it's alright. What do you think? (hint hint) Anywho, I'm proud of it either way. Love you guys for being awesome._


	20. Interlude No 4

**Chapter Twenty: Interlude No. 4**

The hot topic of the week in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry was the Winter Ball. Everyone needed-not wanted-to know who was going with who and who had rejected who…more importantly, everyone needed-again, not wanted-to know who each of the Marauders was taking with them.

James was annoyed. Sirius was amused. Remus was sickened. Peter was downright ecstatic. Each of the four boys was receiving at least fifteen invitations to the dance per day. Sirius was deciding who he would accept one evening, when the_ brilliant_ idea of taking more than one girl struck him. It earned him a few well placed hits from Remus and James, but that didn't matter. He ran out of the common room anyway to propose the idea to a bunch of girls.

That very afternoon, Peter had accepted the invite from a sixth year Hufflepuff girl named Nancy, and he was, James guessed, with her somewhere at that very moment…probably 'getting to know each other.' The thought was kind of freaking James out.

Remus was considering going stag. At first, he hadn't wanted to go at all, but James convinced him to join in the festivities. It was their last year, he had said, and they had to do it right!

"Still going alone?" James asked as the portrait shut behind Sirius.

"Yeah," said Remus. "I'll probably dance a little if a girl asks or something, but I don't want another stalker."

James chuckled. "How many times did she ask you again?"

"Thirty-nine," Remus said sulkily. "And that's just today!" James began to crack up. "Shut it, James. Who are you going with?"

"You," James said. "Those girls are all insane. I'm not even going to try it."

"Why don't you see if Lily has a date?" Remus suggested with a smirk. "She'll probably just end up hanging out with us anyway. And it'd get the girls of Hufflepuff off your back."

"Yeah, and right onto Lily's," James said. "I can't do that to her."

"Can't do what to me?" Lily entered the common room and smiled at the two boys. "What's up?" she asked.

"Oh, not much," said Remus. "Just discussing dates and such for the dance. Do you have one?"

"That Jason boy from Ravenclaw's sixth year asked me," Lily said as she plopped down and used Remus as a pillow. "He's cute, but I passed…I just didn't get a good vibe from him."

"Glad you passed," said James. "Terry mentioned once that he doesn't treat women respectfully. You deserve way better than that creep can offer you."

Lily smiled at James. He was upside down because of how she was sitting. "Thank you, James."

"I have a _fantastic_ idea!" Remus said happily as James glared at him. "James doesn't want to go with one of his stalkers and you need to go with a guy who won't disrespect you in any way, shape or form unless you want Sirius, James and me to crack someone's skull. So! How about you two go together?"

"I wouldn't mind going with a friend," Lily though aloud as she sat up. She raised an eyebrow to James.

"My quote unquote stalkers will be on your back," James said hesitantly.

"Who cares?" said Lily. "They'll live."

James shrugged. "Okay, then," he said. "Lily, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Winter Ball so that a good time between friends can commence wildly?"

"I would _love _to."


	21. Disruption In The Normal Swing of Things

_I like this one. It's almost eight pages. I high five myself for this. Anywho, happy holidays to you all. Thank you so much for reading and especially reviewing!_

**Chapter Twenty-One: A Disruption In The Normal Swing of Things**

"Morning, gents!"

"You're in a good mood, Pete," James commented as Remus and Lily both said good morning to Peter.

"That I am, Prongs!" Peter beamed as he collected his breakfast. "Tonight is the big night!"

"You _really_ like this girl, don't you?" said Remus with a genuine smile. He was happy for his friend. Peter nodded. "Well good for you, Peter. I hope you have fun tonight."

"Still going by yourself?" Peter inquired.

Remus nodded. "I wouldn't be going at all, but James threatened me…"

"I told you I'd share Lily with you," James said, rolling his eyes at Remus.

"_Excuse_ me?!" Lily interjected angrily. "I am _not_ property!"

James smirked, purposely ignoring the redhead. "I wouldn't mind sharing."

"Well…Sirius _is _doing _kind _of the same thing…" Remus thought aloud with a smirk mirroring James'. "Ah, why not? I'll split her with you."

Both boys burst into laughter at the look on her face but were immediately silenced by Lily's wand. "We love you," James squeaked, sinking in his seat.

"Yeah, you'd _better_," said Lily venomously. She turned her want to Remus, who immediately dove under the table shouting, "I'M SORRY!"

"It was only a joke," James whispered carefully, his eyes closed…waiting for a hex.

"Aw, cut them some slack, Lily," Peter said after swallowing a mouthful of sausage. "James only really uses about four percent of his brain on a good day. He's a smart guy, but the common sense part of his brain just is _not _there. Then there's Remus…he's just pathetically alone for this holiday season's ball because he's too picky."

While both boys-Remus from under the table-glared daggers at Peter, Lily broke into a fit of laughter, which effectively caused her to lower her wand.

"Lily," James said tentatively, "can my dear friend Remus join us tonight as a third date?"

"Of course," said Lily, wiping a tear from her eye. Then she turned serious. "You'd better watch your backs though. Be it today or three months from now, I'm going to get you for that."

---

"Have you even _tried_ to do anything with that head of yours?" Remus questioned with a grin as James exited the bathroom dressed in his brilliant navy blue dress robes.

"Moony, you know full well that my hair won't be tamed," James said. "I try." As he said this, he subconsciously ran a hand through his hair.

"Well if you'd stop doing that, it'd be a start," Remus said, shaking his head and turning back to his bed. Once he was fully dressed, he walked over to James, his wand drawn. "I _will _conquer your mop."

When Sirius and Peter entered the Gryffindor seventh year boys' dormitory, they saw what may have been the funniest thing that they had seen all year. Remus was standing on his bed and over James trying desperately to drag a comb through the black haired boys' hair. It wasn't that James' hair was knotted or unclean, it just didn't like combs, so it fought back.

"I _told_ you it has a mind of its own!" James was shouting, trying to get away from Remus. "OUCH!"

"James, just _hold still_!" Remus exclaimed. "I'm going to get this…thing…THROUGH!" Remus flew backwards, landing with a huge crash on the floor as James' hair finally let go of the comb.

Sirius and Peter both collapsed onto each other in wild fits of laughter as James exited the dormitory, muttering about how his scalp was probably bleeding now. Remus stood as James left, rubbing his lower back and groaning.

"What…what would…what would possess you to…to _try_ that?!" Sirius exclaimed through his laughter as he and Peter properly entered the room. "Are you _insane_?!"

"Yes…yes, I am," Remus said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind himself.

Meanwhile, down in the Heads' Dormitories, Lily was busy doing her hair and running around like a chicken with its head cut off. She paused for nearly a split second halfway through her preparation ordeal, wondering why dances always did this to females. Not having time to contemplate it just then, however, she buried it in the back of her mind for later and continued to run in circles trying to prepare for that evening's events.

Little did she know that the boys were all wondering the exact same thing later that evening when the entire male population of the school was standing around the Entrance Hall, some spilling into the corridors, waiting for their dates to emerge from their various common rooms.

"At least you guys are only waiting for one," Sirius was saying sulkily. "Do you know how long I'm going to have to wait? There are _five _of them!"

"Sirius, you make me sick," James said, shaking his head and patting his friend on the back.

"If you'd have thought of it first, you'd have done it," Sirius said.

"Actually…no," said James, smiling. "No I would not have."

"There's Nancy!" Peter exclaimed suddenly. "Do I look okay? Is my hair sticking up? Is-"

"Pete, you look _great_," Remus said, swatting a piece of hair from Peter's shoulder. "Calm down and take a deep breath." Peter did as he was told. "Okay, now walk over to Nancy, take her arm, and have a _good time_ tonight."

With a grateful smile, Peter told his friends that he'd see them later.

"Are you getting that kind of proud father feeling right now?" James asked the other two as they watched Peter approach his date.

"Yeah," they both said with goofy smiles plastered on their faces. "He's all grown up now!" Sirius went on, pretending to sob.

"Sirius is the mother," Remus whispered in James ear.

"GIRLS AHOY!" shouted someone in the Entrance Hall-none of the Marauders were aware of whom.

A large mass of girls were entering the Entrance Hall, looking around for their dates. "If you'll excuse me, boys," Sirius said, grinning madly. "There are three out of five of my dates. I will see you gents on the dance floor."

"He's crazy," Remus commented as Sirius left them.

"Then why do we love him so much?" James inquired.

"He adds color to our lives," Remus said. "Without Sirius, our lives would be black and white…well, more grayscale…point is, we'd be bored."

"Very true…where in the world is Lily? We have to get in there before the rest of the school is allowed in."

Just as James said this, the two young men caught sight of Lily Evans making her way down the marble staircase. Her robes were a brilliant green color and they matched her eyes. Her fiery hair was cascading past her shoulders in a brilliant collection of curls. She was the most beautiful girl in the world to James at that very moment. He felt something inside of him that he hadn't felt in quite some time, and it scared him. Deciding to ignore this feeling, James put on his best smile and he led Remus over to the redhead.

"You look radiant!" he exclaimed as they reached her, which was difficult to do in the crowd.

"You really do," Remus said, smiling politely at Lily. He was amused at the expression on James' face and could tell exactly what battle he was fighting with himself at that moment.

Lily blushed furiously and mumbled her thanks. "Shall we go in then?" she said, taking one of each of the boys' arms so that she was in between the two. "We need to be in there before everyone else, right?"

As the two boys linked arms with Lily, the trio began to head toward the entrance to the Great Hall. Lily laughed on the inside as she saw the looks that she was getting from a good ninety percent or so of the females that they passed. Whether they were attached or going with friends, they all gave her the same evil death glare. She had not only one, but _two _of the Marauders on her arms.

Fifteen minutes later, Remus, James and Lily found themselves seated at the high table with all of the professors. Their peers were spread out at various small tables that seated up to eight people. Professor Dumbledore was standing now, and with that simple action the students silenced themselves, all looking up at their beloved headmaster.

"This is one of my favorite times of the year," Dumbledore began. "I'm sure you all know that it comes in second to Halloween, but I do love it nonetheless. First, I think that you should offer up a big round of applause for all of your prefects and your two Head Students for planning this spectacular event!"

The Hall broke into wild applause and cheering. Once all of the commotion died down, a smiling Dumbledore continued. "I don't have much to say, because my stomach is rumbling, as I'm sure all of yours are!" With a clap of his hands, Dumbledore signaled the appearance of the feast. "Enjoy your dinner!"

Chattering immediately filled the hall. James could see Sirius and his five dates sitting at a table near the high table with Peter and Nancy, who were both looking quite uncomfortable. He pointed this out to Remus, who laughed and shook his head. "Poor Peter," he said. "That's worse than a Friday night date!"

"I can't believe that he actually convinced five different girls that this is a _good_ idea," Lily said, disgusted at the girls more so than Sirius.

"You have two manly men accompanying you here, Miss Evans," James said, flexing his muscles.

"Down, boy," said Lily. "Two is more respectable than five, and I'm not trying to get you both in bed. At least not at the same time, anyway," she added after some thought, winking at the two boys, who laughed. Professor McGonagall, who had overheard this, looked shocked at Lily's joke, not to mention quite uncomfortable.

"Can I go first?" James questioned innocently.

"We'll see," said Lily, taking a bite of her ham.

Once each and every student was sufficiently stuffed, Dumbledore signaled for the plates to be wiped clean. Without a word, he waved his wand and everything in the hall changed from a formal dinner setting to that of a party.

Snow began to fall from the ceiling. It began to accumulate slowly on the floor, but it wasn't slippery at all. Icicles appeared, hanging from the walls. Snowmen were lined up along a far wall. If you would twist their nose, butterbeer would pour out into a mug made of ice, but charmed to not freeze or melt in your hand. The floor was now made of ice that wasn't slippery, as were the walls and doors. A stage made completely of ice appeared for the entertainment, the instruments also made of ice.

"This looks amazing," Lily whispered to Remus and James. They both nodded in agreement as Dumbledore began to speak.

"Alright," he said, clapping his hands together. "I would like all of you to welcome The Hobgoblins!"

The band members entered the Hall from a back room to thunderous applause. Once the noise level had decreased a tad bit, Dumbledore began to address the school again. "This wonderful band is going to play us a slow tune to get started. As tradition calls for, I would like the Head Boy and Girl to start us off for the evening."

James and Lily both stood, smiling, and James offered her his arm. She accepted and the pair walked eloquently to the center of the dance floor. As The Hobgoblins struck up an uncharacteristically slow paced tune, James placed his left hand on the small of Lily's back and took her left one with his right. With her right hand on James' shoulder, the Heads began to dance.

As the song progressed, some of the professors and most of the students joined Lily and James on the dance floor. James took the opportunity to draw Lily closer to him, and she didn't fight it. What was happening here, he wondered. Was he falling for her again?

_No!_ James said to himself. _You're just dancing with a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't even go there, James…just don't go there._

Meanwhile, Lily was lost in her own thoughts…

_He really is quite comfortable. _She laid her head on his shoulder. _I'm glad I came with him. I hope Remus is okay not dancing right now…I'll have to dance with him after this song. I wonder if Peter is having a good time with Nancy now that he got away from the Sirius Black show…honestly, I love Sirius and everything, but this is ridiculous. Those girls shouldn't be letting him do these things. The only reason he acts like that toward girls is because they let him. At least he's nice to me…I'm glad that we're friends now. He can be funny. This is a long song…I wonder what-_

"Lily, you can let go now," James finally broke through her thought barrier. They were standing in the middle of a dance floor full of swing dancing students and she was clutching his hand.

"Oh! Sorry!" Lily exclaimed, letting him go. "I tend to get lost in my own thoughts too often."

James chuckled.

As the night wore on, Lily danced with both James and Remus, very often at the same time. She received many dirty looks and death glares from a good percentage of the female population, but she didn't care. She was just having a good time with some friends.

Peter had spent a good amount of time on the dance floor, but was now sitting near the drink snowmen with his date. They were talking and really seemed to be hitting it off. Sirius was surrounded by a small circle of girls and was enjoying himself immensely.

Dumbledore was dancing with Professor Sprout when the news reached his ears via Professor McGonagall. It was unimaginable…it was insane…it was coming their way. He needed to act quickly. He needed everyone's cooperation…and he knew that it wouldn't be easy to get if they knew what was happening.

Dumbledore swept to the stage as quickly as possible, interrupting The Hobgoblin's tune about a dragon that fell in love with a troll.

"Attention!" he bellowed. Every person in the hall immediately silenced themselves and gave Dumbledore their full attention. "Every student must return to your dormitories now. Will all prefects please assist in escorting the younger students back, thank you."

With great wonder, everyone began to spill out of the Great Hall. "What's going on?" and "Why is the ball ending early?" could be heard coming from the mouth of nearly every student. Lily and Remus went to assist the Gryffindor prefects while James went to find Sirius and Peter to tell them to go back to the Heads' dorms, completely unsure of what was going on.

---

"What the hell is going on?!" Sirius exclaimed as he burst into the Heads' Common Room.

"No, the question is where the hell have you been?" said Lily.

"I had to walk Gina, Paige, Fran, Rachel and Jackie back to their respective dormitories," Sirius sighed, plopping into an armchair. "I will never _ever_ do this again," he said. "I've learned my lesson." James and Remus both laughed. "Now, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," said James and Lily in unison.

"Where's Peter?"

"I think he's staying with Nancy," Remus said. "She was, er…_scared_, or something."

"_Right._"

James was sitting on the one end of the couch in front of the fire, Remus on the other. Lily was using James as a pillow and Remus as a footrest. Sirius, sitting in his armchair, chuckled at the three. "Looks like you're threesome worked out tonight…"

"We had fun," Lily said.

"Do you think Dumbledore will fill you guys in on why he stopped the dance?" Remus questioned, just as Dumbledore entered the room.

"Good timing," Sirius said to his friend with a smirk.

"Professor," Lily said, sitting up.

"What happened?" asked James. "Why did you end the ball?"

"Hogsmeade is under attack," said the headmaster gravely. "I am leaving the castle right now. Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, you are in charge. All of the professors have gone to the village to hold off the attack. They are heading toward the school. Make sure that everyone stays in their common rooms, and inform the prefects."

Without so much as a second glance, Dumbledore was gone. The four teens were just sitting, staring at each other. "Did he just say-"

"Yes."

"And they're trying to-"

"Yes."

"Do you think it's-"

"It definitely is."

"You heard the man," James said suddenly. "Do you two want to make sure that everyone's in their common rooms while we go talk to the prefects?"

Standing, Remus and Sirius nodded. Once Lily was gone they would retrieve the Marauder's Map from James' trunk. Lily and James both left the common room, splitting up. Lily took Gryffindor and Hufflepuff while James took Slytherin and Ravenclaw.


	22. Interlude No 5

_Here ya go gryffincri…it's uh…short._

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Interlude No. 5**

_Attack On Hogwarts Leaves Parents Uneasy_

_Are our children really safe? The Ministry of Magic says yes but parents say no._

_Last night, the attacks on Hogsmeade left fifty-two dead and several more injured as a band of The Dark Lord's followers advanced upon Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry. The attack was fended off by the professors, led by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and a team of Aurors that had been called to the scene._

_With none of the attackers captured, this leaves the question lingering in many minds: Are the children safe?_

_"There is nothing for parents to worry about," said Bartimius Crouch of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "We are placing a guard around the castle as a precaution, but there is a very small chance that anything like this will happen again." When asked what he was basing this inference upon, Mr. Crouch ended the interview._

"The Ministry is at it again," said James, choosing not to finish reading the article. He handed the paper to Sirius, who began to read the article.

"Look at this one," Remus said, handing his copy of the Daily Prophet to James. Lily peered over his shoulder, having just entered the Great Hall.

_What's In A Name?_

_We all know the name, it is Voldemort. However, many witches and wizards are fearful to say even just his name, opting instead to call him The Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or simply You-Know-Who…_

"Are you serious?" Lily said.

"What I don't believe is that the public is becoming afraid to say his name, and yet the Ministry is still treating it like it's no big deal," said Remus, frowning.

"This is getting ridiculous," Sirius said, throwing James' paper to the floor. "What the hell does the Ministry need? This guy slaughters muggles, kills people in Hogsmeade and tries to get into _Hogwarts_, and the Ministry is _still_ acting like he's some common bad guy."

"There's a war going on and they don't even know it," Peter squeaked.

"Look at this one," Lily said, pointing to a headline. "Does Dumbledore Disagree?" she read. "Dumbledore gave an interview expressing his distaste for the Ministry. He seems to think the only way they would take the attacks seriously is if someone ranked in the Ministry were to be killed or at least directly affected in some way."

"He's probably right," said Sirius, putting his head in his hands.

"You alright, Padfoot?" James said, a worried look on his face.

"My family…" Sirius said. He needn't say anymore, for his friends-minus Lily, anyway-understood.

"Dumbledore will fix this," Peter said determinedly. "Dumbledore always fixes it."

"That's just the problem, Pete," said James. "I don't think this is fixable."

…_among the dead was Mr. William H. Rosmerta, father of the Three Broomsticks Pub's owner. Madame Rosmerta was unavailable for comment, but we have been told by Albus Dumbledore that she is crippled by this devastating loss. This begs the question, what is the Ministry of Magic doing for us?_


	23. I Won't Be Home For Christmas

_As I reread this I saw that it was mostly dialogue…but I think it's kind of funny at parts, so I left it that way. Hope you don't mind. At any rate, it's got some serious friendship in it. Haha. I hope I do well, Suddy!_

**Chapter Twenty-Three: I Won't Be Home For Christmas**

"I need to blow off some steam."

"We have exams tomorrow."

"I need to blow off some steam."

"We have exams tomorrow."

"I _need_ to blow off some _steam_."

"We have _exams_ tomorrow."

"_James!_"

"Stop whining."

"James, _please_…"

"No."

"J-"

"NO!"

"James-"

"Midterms, Sirius…midterms. I don't know if you can grasp the concept, but it is very, _very _important that we do well on them. Remember how we both decided that we wanted to be Aurors so that we can go after that crazy bastard Voldemort? Well we can't become Aurors if we don't go to school to train, and we can't go to school to train unless we do very, _very_ well this year."

"One prank, then I _swear_, it'll be study study study!"

James removed his glasses and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Okay," he gave in, "fine. You have twenty minutes while I go to the kitchens and get a sandwich to pull whatever prank you want. If you aren't back here by that time, I will find you and I will kill you."

"Come _with_ me!"

"You are like a whiney girlfriend," James complained. "I can't come with you. We got caught, I'm on thin ice remember?"

"I swear we won't get caught this time!" Sirius said, grinning wildly. "I have a _plan_…plus, we aren't drunk."

"Valid point accepted," James said, smiling. "How do you _always_ get to me?"

---

"I was on my way back from the bathroom and I saw James and Sirius taking a stroll," Lily whispered to Remus as she slipped into her seat across from him. The two Gryffindors were in the library studying for their midterms.

"So? They were probably just taking a bit of a break," Remus whispered back.

Lily shook her head. "Sirius had that look on his face…" Remus smirked. "And you keep saying that you don't encourage them! You lie!"

"What?!" Remus hissed defensively. "Just because I'm supposedly the more mature one means I can find it all quite hilarious?"

Shaking her head and smiling, Lily opened up her Potions text and began to look up information on Fire Protection Potions.

Meanwhile, James and Sirius were busy stumbling into the Heads' Common Room laughing hysterically. James collapsed onto the couch, where his books were waiting for him, trying to calm down.

"I can't believe we just did that," James choked out. "They're going to _know_-"

"Shh!" Sirius said. "They won't know! …damn it, I'm lying to you. I am _so _lying to you. I'm going to take the blame, I swear. It's worth the funny…ness!"

Sirius was right: he was lying to James. When each of the professors awoke the next morning with baby blue colored hair, they were livid, and they knew that it had been the Marauders who had done it.

"I knew you did something bad," Lily said, shaking her head at James and Sirius as all four Marauders took their seats at the Gryffindor table.

"James did nothing!" Sirius hissed as he saw Professor McGonagall walking briskly toward them. "And that's what we're sticking to! He was in the library with you two all night studying."

"But-"

"Shh!" Sirius tossed a sausage which landed perfectly in Lily's mouth. She shrugged and began to chew it as the deputy headmistress stopped right behind her, glaring at the Marauders.

"That color does wonders for you, Minnie," Sirius said, flashing a brilliant smile. "You look twenty-seven and a half years younger!"

"The four of you, detention. Forever."

"Au contraire, my dear Minerva-"

"_Black_."

"Au contraire, professor, it was my doing," Sirius said, beaming. "They were all boring me with their _studying_ in the library…so I took it upon myself to entertain…myself."

Remus, Peter and James were all biting their lips as hard as they could to keep from laughing. Professor McGonagall's face was red with anger and it went quite well with her new hair, if they did say so themselves.

"Mr. Black, detention…forever," McGonagall growled.

"Now that's impossible, my dear!" Sirius exclaimed, hands in the air. "See, I'm graduating in June, so forever is just _not _going to be working for me."

"Go to the headmaster's office, Black!" McGonagall snapped. "NOW!"

As she began to walk angrily back to the head table, Sirius shouted after her, "Don't worry! It's only a twenty-four hour spell!" He turned back to his friends who were now laughing hysterically.

"Bravo!" James said, clapping. "Bravo! Encore!"

"Grazie," Sirius said, bowing and wiping a pretend tear from his eye. "Oh well, gents and Lily, looks like I've got myself a date with Dumbly-dore. I'll catch you after exams today." Sirius wrapped some toast in a napkin and happily trotted out of the Great Hall.

"He is so strange," Peter said, shaking his head and cutting up some breakfast sausages.

"We all already knew that, Pete," said James. "It's been almost seven whole years, after all."

"Are you all ready for today?" Lily asked, switching gears.

"I'm worried about Potions," Peter said earnestly. "I was studying with Nancy yesterday, though, and she's amazing at potions, so hopefully I'll be alright."

Several minutes later, the bell signaling the end of breakfast rang and the students were all suddenly silenced by the impending doom that were their midterm exams.

---

"Brutal."

"Brutal?"

"Brutal."

"Well, maybe if you were studying last night instead of turning hair blue-"

"Don't even go there, Lily." James collapsed into his seat at the Gryffindor table, head effectively landing on a plate.

Lily took the seat next to him, shaking her head with a smile playing on her lips. "It was pretty funny," she said.

"I know it was!" James said, picking himself up. "It was all Sirius, though. I can't even claim just a little bit of the creative license on this one."

"Best friend and best friend!" Sirius was shouting at James and Lily as he entered the Great Hall. Both of the aforementioned friends turned just in time to see Sirius skidding to a halt, but misjudging the distance and slamming into the table.

"Evening, Sirius," Lily said, smirking.

"You guys!" Sirius exclaimed, holding his stomach where it had been hit.

"What is it, Padfoot?" James asked, concerned about his friend's wild behavior.

"IT'S THE END OF THE SEMESTER! CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!"

"…that's what was so important that you slammed yourself into a table and shouted at us from the doors?"

"Mmhmm."

"…right."

Sirius sat down across from Lily and happily began to gather his dinner. "I miss Dad and Grams!"

"So do I!" James said with a large smile. "I can't wait to eat some of Grams' honey glazed ham and Dad's stuffing!"

"Merlin! Yes!" Sirius exclaimed. "I love that man's stuffing. Lily, you need to come over for dinner during the break some time. You'll _love _it! And Grams will probably say something along the lines of, 'She's much too skinny! We need to fatten you up!'" James and Sirius had sat the last part in unison, trying their best to sound like sweet old women.

Lily chuckled and said, "I'd love to eat over."

"Speaking of friends and coming over…ness, and junk," James began, "have you talked to Patricia and Alice yet?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at Lily as she bit her lip, looking at her dinner.

"No," she mumbled.

"Why not?" Sirius questioned.

"I don't really know if I want to, actually," Lily continued to mumble and the boys had to lean closer to hear her.

"Explain…now!" said James.

"Well…" Lily began. She looked up at James, then at Sirius. "You guys…even with the problems you had in the beginning of the year, you guys are so…I don't even know the word for it, really. Your friendship, the friendship between the four of you, it's so…selfless. I want that, and I feel that I've been getting that when I'm with the four of you. Do you know what I mean?"

"We love you like a sister," Sirius said with a smile. "It's actually really funny, because in September I didn't even want you around."

Lily chuckled. "Exactly," she said. "We've grown closer and I like being around you crazy animals all the time. When I'm with you guys, I feel like I can just…hang out and be me. We don't always have to be _doing_ something. When I'm with Patty and Alice I always feel like I need to sort of…_entertain_ them in some way. We could never just sit around in the common room and enjoy each others company. We always had to be _doing_ something. And it's so much easier to talk to you, James, than it was to talk to Patty. It's so much easier to laugh and joke with you, Sirius, than it was with either of the other two.

"I used to think that I was close with them, but now that I've been in the middle of the Marauders for a while, I can see that we were just friends. And that was it. There was nothing more than that, no _best_…just _friend_. I don't want that."

"Wow…that's kind of deep," Sirius commented, biting a piece of chicken. "Personally, I still don't like them anyway, so I'm behind you one hundred percent." He shrugged.

Lily laughed. "Thanks, Sirius…thanks a lot."


	24. Train 'Round The Bend

_Okay, so this and the next chapter are my favorites so far._

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Train 'Round The Bend**

"We're going to be at King's Cross in an hour," James announced as he and Lily entered the Marauders' compartment. "Are you all ready for the Great Gift Exchange?"

"Heck yeah!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He pulled a bag of wrapped presents down from the overhead compartment. Everyone had put all of the gifts into this sack so that Santa Sirius could hand them out.

James took the seat that Sirius had been sitting in while Lily took the open spot next to Remus and across from Peter.

"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!" Sirius began tossing gifts at everyone and placing his on the floor, a huge, child-like grin plastered on his face.

"Merry Christmas," everyone said in unison. Then, laughing, they began to tear the wrapping paper off of their gifts.

"Padfoot, I think I'm in love with you!" Peter exclaimed when he saw that his gift was the packages of Non-Explodable Luminous Balloons.

"Glad you love them," Sirius said in the midst of prying open the box that was from Lily. "Holy crap!" he exclaimed when he saw what it was. "I read about these, but…Merlin, Lily! Thank you _so _much!"

Sirius jumped to his feet and tackled Lily where she sat. "Ooff!" was all that could be heard coming from underneath the large teenaged boy.

"That poor girl," James said. He was smiling and shaking his head at his best friend's antics as he thumbed through The Greatest Conspiracy In Quidditch. "This book is amazing, Moony. I can't wait to read the whole thing."

"I thought you might like that," Remus said with a smile. "Hey, Peter, this photo album is great! I didn't know you had taken all of these pictures…"

"I'm like a ninja, Moony," Peter said, winking. "Super stealthy."

"I'm going to go find the food cart really quick," Sirius announced several minutes later, standing. He was covered in wrapping paper, all of it stuck to various parts of his body.

"She came around already…twice," Remus pointed out.

"And you ate…twice," Peter added.

"I'm still hungry," Sirius pouted. "I'm a growing teenage boy."

"I'll come with you then," Remus said.

"Yeah," said Peter, standing. "You're going to eat everything left if you aren't supervised."

The three left the compartment, Sirius arguing with the other two about his eating habits. James was still smiling and shaking his head as the door clicked shut. "Sirius is so incredibly…_Sirius_." Lily laughed, nodding. "Well, you have one gift left," James went on, fishing her present out of his cloak pocket which was in the overhead compartment.

Taking the seat next to Lily, James handed her the small golden box with a bow on it. "Merry Christmas, Lils."

Smiling, Lily undid the bow and slowly removed the cover to the box. Inside sat the compass. Lily took it in her hands, placing the box beside her. Opening it, she saw the markings for north, south, east and west. At the moment, there was a dot labeled 'James Potter' sitting on the east marking.

"If you ever need to find me for any reason whatsoever, this compass will get you to me," James said quietly, hoping that she liked it. "I even tweaked it a bit with my _awesome_ magical skills and if you ask it to, it'll locate any of the guys."

"Your supreme magical skill," Lily said quietly, smiling and closing the compass. After placing it back into the box, Lily threw her arms around James' neck. "It's beautiful," she said into his shoulder. "Thank you so much."

---

James stepped off of the train and onto Platform Nine And Three Quarters. With a smile, he saw Grandma Potter waiting in her usual spot near the hand carts. Waving at her, he led the way over followed by Sirius, Remus, Peter and Lily.

"Hey, Grams!" he said, smiling. He wrapped his grandmother in a hug.

"Hello, boys," Grandma Potter said, hugging each of the boys in turn. "And who is this?" she questioned when her eyes fell upon Lily.

"This is Lily," James said. "Lils, this is Grandma Potter."

With a smile, Lily held out her hand. "Oh, nonsense, dear," Grandma Potter said, hugging the younger woman. "Any friend of James and Sirius is a grandchild of mine. You're much too skinny. Come over some day for dinner so I can fatten you up."

Sirius and James both burst into laughter as Lily smiled wider and said, "They said you'd say that."

Remus spotted his father only moments later. He and Peter-who he was bringing home with him for the night-bid goodbye and happy holidays to everyone and left.

"Lets go," Grandma Potter said. "Your father is cooking dinner. He got off of work a few hours early."

"Sweet!" Sirius said, pumping a fist.

"Would you like to join us for dinner tonight, dear?" Grandma Potter asked Lily as Sirius led the way in Muggle London.

"No thank you," Lily said politely. "I have plans with my father tonight."

"Another time then."

Lily went through the barrier before Grandma Potter, meeting the boys on the other side. She heard her name being called from up ahead and the three teens searched for the source as Grandma Potter appeared.

Suddenly, Lily spotted her stepmother. "Paula!" she exclaimed, abandoning her trunk and the boys and running over to the tall brunette.

She led Paula, after a tight hug, back over to where the two Potters and Sirius stood next to the three Hogwarts trunks. "Guys," she said, beaming, "this is Paula, my step mom. Paula, that's Sirius and James and this is Grandma Potter."

"More commonly known as Grams," said the older woman with a smile.

"And I," Sirius said, bowing, "am more commonly known as stud muffin."

"Lovely to meet all of you," Paula said with a soft smile as James smacked Sirius in the back of the head. "I hate to have to run, but dinner is in the oven and Lily's father is waiting."

"See you boys soon, okay?"

Sirius scooped Lily up into a brotherly hug and wished her a Merry Christmas. James hugged her next, though a little tighter than Sirius did, and told her to Floo to 'The Potters' if she got bored. When he let her go, Lily suddenly felt chillier than before…perhaps a bit empty…and then she was gone.

"Well, boys," Grandma Potter said, clapping her hands together, "lets go."

---

Christmas night found Sirius and James in the sitting room of their home relaying stories of the completed semester to David Potter. Grandma Potter had headed upstairs to, all of the men presumed, go to sleep.

"And you had the nerve to tell your grandmother that you'd stay out of trouble," David was saying as he shook his head. He was smiling as he sipped his whiskey. "You lied right to the woman's face."

"Oh, she knew we were lying," Sirius said, smirking.

"How did your midterms go?" David inquired.

"They were brutal," said James.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "I think I did well, though. James had me studying real hard."

"You got him to study?! Wait, _you_ studied?!" David gawked at both of his boys.

"We've decided that we're both going to have _amazing _grades this year," said James.

"We're going to apply for the Auror Training Program."

"Following in my footsteps?"

"Something like that," said Sirius.

"We want to do something about this war that's brewing," James said solemnly. "I can't stand reading about these stupid, senseless murders."

"We can't just do nothing about it."

"Hopefully, by the time we get to be Aurors, the Ministry will have begun to take this all seriously."

"For Merlin's sake, there was nearly an attack on the school!"

"I'm getting sick of the Ministry of Magic…"

David drained the last of his whiskey, then he leaned forward in his chair. "Do you boys seriously want to do something about this guy?"

Both boys mimicked David's movements, leaning forward. "Yeah," they said in unison, "of course."

"Don't bother with the Ministry," David said flatly. "The Ministry has rules and regulations and too many loopholes for these _bastards _to jump through and out of trouble." He shook his head for the effect. "Dumbledore is taking this head on, and he's doing it the _right _way."

"What do you mean?" Sirius questioned, his voice just above a whisper.

"Dumbledore started an army of sorts," David said, his voice hushed. Both boys leaned closer. "It's a secret organization…an intelligence group, if you will. We're capturing his followers, we're trying to stop their murders…we're actually _fighting _these guys, and we're doing it without the restrictions of Ministry laws. Do you know Barty Crouch from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement? And the Auror Alastor Moody?"

"Yeah, Crouch is being quoted every other day in the papers and Moody has been here for dinner plenty of times," James said.

"They're both in on it," said David. "Them and some carefully selected Ministry personnel. Even a good percentage of your professors are in this group."

"I want in," both boys said immediately.

"You know he won't even consider considering it until you graduate from Hogwarts," said David, leaning back in his seat. "I'll talk with him, though…bring it up."

David poured himself another glass of whiskey. He offered it to James and Sirius, who each took a sip before handing it back to him. "So," he said in a considerably lighter tone, "Dumbledore tells me that you boys have a taste for Ogden's."

James faked an innocent look. "What, us? Why would Dumbledore say that?"

"Cut the crap," David said, chuckling. "I know that you did it. Don't tell your grandmother, but I did the same things when I was in school…difference between me and you is that _I _never got myself caught."

"Until now!" came the voice of the one and only Grandma Potter from the kitchen. She entered the sitting room with a wooden spoon. "Get over here, _now_!"

David jumped from his seat and ran out of the room. Grandma Potter ran passed the two teenaged boys, who were laughing extremely hard, and followed her son.

"It feels _so _good to be home!"

---

Eventually, Grandma Potter, David, Sirius and James all found their beds. Sirius was laying awake in his bed at nearly three a.m. His stomach was rumbling like mad.

Placing a hand on his bare stomach, Sirius sighed and said, "Alright, alright. To the kitchen…"

Sirius rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers. Trotting down the stairs, Sirius was attempting to decide what he wanted to eat, but his thoughts were interrupted by a whooshing sound from the sitting room.

"What the hell…" Sirius muttered. Not having his wand with him, he decided to quickly retrieve a knife out of the kitchen.

Tiptoeing into the sitting room, Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. "Lily!" he said, smiling. "You scared the crap out of me!" He put the knife down on the coffee table.

As Sirius approached the redhead, her face was lit up by the moonlight. "Lily?" he said. "Are you alright?"


	25. The Other Side

_Hey, everyone. Thanks for all the reviews. I'm leaving in a couple of minutes for the city and won't be back home until probably tomorrow night, so I wanted to get this out to you. If there's anything that I did horribly wrong editing-wise, let me know so I can fix it, because I haven't had a chance to do it myself. Like I said, I just wanted to get it to you before I leave. _

_Just so that we avoid confusion, this is going back to earlier Christmas Night and is following Lily._

**Chapter Twenty-Five: The Other Side**

"That dinner was amazing."

"Put those dishes down this instant," Paula mock-scolded. "Go spend some time with your father. I'll clean up here."

With a grateful smile, Lily placed the dirty dishes back onto the table. "I think I'll bring him a glass of his wine," she thought aloud, moving toward the cabinets.

Jonathan Evans was seated out on his porch bundled up to fight the cold. Lily, wearing a thick sweater that Paula had made for her, exited the house quietly with two glasses of white zinfandel.

"Wine, Daddy?" She smiled, handing her father the glass as she sipped from her own.

"You know," Jonathan mused, taking the glass, "you're still my little girl…"

"You let me drink wine when I was…what was it, thirteen?" Jonathan chuckled. "That's what I thought!"

"So, my little Lily Flower, pull up your seat and tell me about school life. Letters just aren't the same, you know?"

"It's a lot different this year," Lily said, sitting in her seat. "For starters, Patty and Alice aren't speaking to me anymore."

"And why is that?"

"It's partly…well, _mostly _my fault."

"It's all your fault," said Jonathan with a knowing smile.

Lily nodded. "Yep," she said. She sighed. "Honestly, though, I don't find myself caring all that much. See, that guy I used to complain about all the time, James Potter, he's Head Boy. We started spending a _lot_ of time together and…well, I became really close friends with him and his friends. I can't really explain it, but it just _feels_ right, you know?"

"I always told you: follow your heart," Jonathan said softly, closing his eyes. Lily took in her father's appearance and her heart broke in two. He was now completely bald and very, very pale. He looked so worn out.

"I'm following my heart, Daddy," she whispered.

"From what Paula tells me, your heart is leading you toward this James character." A tired smirk appeared on Jonathan's face.

"Dad!"

"You wrote about him in almost all of your letters," Jonathan said innocently, his eyes opening to focus on his daughter. "_James is so wonderful sometimes! James and I are going to the dance together! I went shopping for Christmas presents and I found this **wonderful** cloak for **James**! Ja-_"

"Alright!" Lily exclaimed, stopping her father, who laughed lightly.

"Paula said that you and James Potter looked to be quite comfortable in the train station."

"I hugged James _and_ Sirius goodbye," Lily said, sipping her wine.

"You have feelings for this boy, Lily, don't deny it," Jonathan said knowingly.

"No!"

"Paula isn't usually wrong about these things, you know."

"Okay…maybe a _little_-"

"Lily…"

"Okay! He's a wonderful person!" Lily finally burst. "He makes me laugh, and he takes care of me when I need to cry. It's easy to talk to him…he's intelligent with this stupid immature streak that I find infuriatingly adorable! He's just…he's just James."

With his knowing smirk still firmly in place, Jonathan put a hand on his daughter's. "It's good to know you'll have someone to take care of you…"

"We're not dating," Lily stated.

"I can tell that _that_ won't last long."

"Daddy…"

"Lily," he mimicked. After a few moments, he sighed. "Help a sick old fart up to his bed would you?" he requested. "I'm tired."

Once Lily had helped her father to his room, she tucked him into bed. "Should I tell you one of the old King Swami tales?" she asked, smiling softly.

"It's been a quite some time since those stories," Jonathan said, his eyes already closing to let sleep take him over. "Good night, Lily. I love you."

"I love you too, Dad," Lily said, bending to kiss his cheek. As she switched off the lamp, she wished him a Merry Christmas.

Many hours later, Lily was awoken by Paula. It was two thirty in the morning and Lily was feeling quite disoriented. "Wazamattuh?!"

"Lily," Paula choked out.

At the sound of her stepmother's voice, Lily sat bolt upright…like she already knew…

"He's gone, Lily."

Lily's head snapped toward the window where she could see flashing lights for a moment before they went out. It was just like in the summer, only this time… "He…he…"

"That was the ambulance…they…they couldn't do anything. He's gone, Lily," Paula repeated, tears streaming down her face. "He collapsed on his way back from the bathroom."

"My…"

"I'm so sorry, hunny."

Lily didn't hear anything more. She saw Paula's mouth moving, but she was deafened by her grief. Without warning, Lily just stood, grabbed a small bag and a compass out of her trunk, which stood open near her bedroom door, and left Paula in her room looking perplexed.

The compass was from James.

The bag was Floo Powder.

The destination was The Potter House.

In a whirl of green flames, Lily found herself standing in a very nice sitting room, which she would have noticed had this been a social call. Her ears caught the sound of someone approaching the room that she was in…Sirius.

"Lily!" he said, smiling. "You scared the crap out of me!" He put the knife that he had been holding down on the coffee table.

As he approached, Lily tried her best to hold in the tears. "Lily?" he said. "Are you alright?"

Lily closed the gap between herself and Sirius throwing her body against his bare chest. Sirius instinctively drew her closer. "Lily," he said, "what's wrong?"

"J-J-James," Lily managed to choke out through her sobs.

"You want James?" Sirius asked softly. Lily nodded into his chest. "Sit right here," Sirius said, guiding Lily into one of the chairs. "I'll go get him right now, alright?"

All she could do was nod.

Sirius took to the steps two at a time as he exited the sitting room. He used his hand to wipe Lily's tears from his skin, wondering what exactly was going on.

James was shaken from his slumber by two very cold hands. Flailing about and knowing it was Sirius who was waking him up, James began to swear and yell.

"Shh! Shut _up_, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Lily's downstairs and something's _really _wrong."

"What? What time is it?"

"Three-ish…maybe…I think."

James rolled out of bed, putting his glasses on and picking a tee shirt up off of the floor. "Did she say anything?"

"Just that she wants you."

"It's probably her dad," James said, leaving the bedroom and an extremely confused Sirius.

James followed the sounds of crying into the sitting room. When his eyes fell upon the redhead, hugging her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth, his heart broke into three million tiny pieces.

James rushed over to Lily. She stood when she heard him moving across the room and this allowed him to scoop her up into a tight hug. She cried into his old tee shirt, soaking it, but he did not care. He knew automatically by the amount of tears that her father had passed on, and he knew better than to say a word to her. He let her cry it out.

"I'm so sorry," Lily said shakily after what seem to both teens like an eternity.

"You're sorry for what, love?" James asked quietly.

"I sh-shouldn't have come here a-and got you o-o-out of bed," Lily sniffed. "I just…I just n-needed to s-s-see you."

"It's not a problem, Lils," James said soothingly, giving her a tight squeeze. "I'm here for you always, remember? I don't care if I have to get out of bed."

"S-still sorry."

Shaking his head, James quietly asked, "When?"

"Ab-about an hour a-ago, I g-guess."

"What about your step mom? Does she know where you are?" Lily shook her head 'no.' "We should get you back to your house, then, Lils," James said, rubbing her back as he pulled back slightly to look at her. "She's got to be worried, not knowing where you went off to and all."

"W-will you stay with me?" Lily asked tentatively, tears still streaming down her face at an alarming rate.

"Of course I will," James whispered. He moved to the fireplace, keeping hold of Lily's hand, to get the Floo Powder.

Moments later, he was standing in Lily's living room. He heard her footsteps down the hall and caught sight of her slipping into the bathroom. Then, from the top of the steps, she heard a frightened gasp.

"James Potter? Why are you in my living room…with no pants on?"

Paula, face tearstained, was heading down the steps.

"Oh…" James had forgotten that he was wearing only his boxers. "Sorry," he said. "Lily Flooed to my house and I told her that you were probably worried, so we came back here because she asked me if I could stay with her for a while."

Nodding, Paula said, "Alright, then."

"I'm so sorry for your loss," James said awkwardly, fidgeting with the edge of his shirt.

"You're a good friend, James Potter," said Paula. "Lily doesn't open up easily…please don't let her bottle this up because it will surely be the death of her if she does." James nodded. "She's comfortable with you, so I'm going to leave her be, alright?" Again, James nodded. "I'll be going to the funeral home when they open at seven…if you can get her to sleep a little, I'd rather not wake her for it…if you could just tell her if you're still here."

"I will," James said. "I'm going to stay until she kicks me out…I don't want to leave her alone."

"You're a good boy, James," said Paula again, dabbing at her eyes with a worn out tissue. "Lily is lucky to have you as a friend…I need to go to my parents' house right now, and I have a feeling Lily will be better off staying here with you than coming with me."

"Alright," James said, not knowing what else he could possibly say.

Paula put a hand on James' shoulder as she passed him. Lily exited the bathroom just as Paula was leaving the house. "Where a-are you going?" she questioned.

"My mom," she said quietly.

Lily nodded. "Can I st-stay with James?"

It was Paula's turn to nod. Without warning Lily ran full force up to Paula and threw herself into her stepmother's arms. The two women cried, James standing awkwardly to the side in naught but his boxers and tee shirt. Paula hugged her stepdaughter tight, letting the girl sob into her shoulder.

Paula led Lily back into the house, away from the door. She sat down on the couch with Lily at her side. "I'm sorry, Lily," she said just as Lily whispered her apologies for the loss to Paula.

"We're going to make it through this, Lily, I promise," Paula said, rocking the younger woman in her arms. "We're going to make it through this."

After quite some time, Lily had finally cried herself to sleep in Paula's arms.

"Will you take her to her bedroom, James?" Paula requested, looking up at the young man from the couch. "It's the last room on the right upstairs."

"Of course," James said, slowly walking over to the pair. He delicately scooped Lily up into his arms.

"Goodbye, James," Paula whispered sadly, moving toward the door to go see her mother, needing comfort of her own.

The lock on the door clicked as James reached the top of the steps. He located the door to Lily's bedroom and carefully pushed it open with his foot. He also used his foot to move her covers out of the way before placing her into the bed and tucking her in to make sure she stayed warm.

Just as he was leaving the room, he heard a soft moan come from the redhead. Turning around, he saw her eyes were slightly open. "Don't go," she whispered. "I need you."

James felt the three million tiny pieces of his heart being shattered even more. He returned to Lily's bedside, kneeling down in front of her. He put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it softly. "I'm staying, don't worry."

"Promise?" Her eyes closed as one of her hands found one of his.

James climbed up into her bed, laying behind her and maneuvering himself under the covers. "I won't leave you, Lils…not ever."

---

_Soooo…bam. I hope that was good…_


	26. My Sanity On The Funeral Pyre

**Chapter Twenty-Six: My Sanity On The Funeral Pyre**

James straightened his tie, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He attempted to flatten his hair to no avail, so he simply shrugged and pulled on his jacket.

"Nice suit." Sirius was leaning on the door frame, his arms crossed. "All you wear at the wake is black slacks, meanwhile you're hiding _that_ in your closet?"

"It's Dad's," James said, bending to tie the shoes. "You're taking care of the food for Paula, right?"

Sirius nodded, saying, "One o'clock."

"See you at the house at one, then," James said, passing Sirius.

"Do you have your wand?"

"No, why?"

"Flooing is going to mess up your super spiffy suit."

"…good point."

Only a few minutes later, James found himself in Lily's living room. It had been a few days since the death of her father and James had barely left Lily's side. He was Flooing back and forth between houses only when Lily was asleep.

He heard a few unfamiliar voices from the kitchen, so he headed toward the room. Paula was standing at the counter in a long black dress pouring mugs of coffee. Sat at the table was a bony blond woman, a pudgy dark-haired man and a snooty-looking redheaded woman.

"James," Paula said, moving toward the table to give the others their coffee. "I'm glad you're here. She refuses to speak or get out of bed."

"Ruining everything, as usual," said the boney blond.

"Excuse me?" said James, outraged.

"Just go up and talk to her, please, James," Paula said, glaring at the young woman. "We need to leave soon."

"'Course, Paula," James said, deciding that this wasn't the time to be arguing with this stranger. He left the kitchen. Whoever that boney woman was, he did _not _like her.

Once he made it up the stairs, he saw that Lily's door was closed. He moved down the hallway to the closed door and raised a hand to knock. "Lily," he said. "It's James…open up or I'll do it myself. I have my wand with me, and I'm not afraid to use it."

No movement could be heard from inside of the room. James removed his wand from the special inside pocket of his jacket. "Alohamora."

Pushing the door open, James stepped into the bedroom. He slowly closed the door behind him and approached the bed. All of Lily except for a bit of her flaming hair was covered by her comforter.

"Lily," James said softly. He sat on the bed, a hand on what he gathered was Lily's back. "Lily, you need to get ready," James said, rubbing her back. "Paula says it's nearly time to leave."

"Dun wanna," was the muffled response that he received.

"Come on, Lils…you've made it through the wake. This is the last step…it's so hard, but you have to say goodbye."

"Dun wanna."

"Lily, you have to," James said. "You're going to regret it later in life if you don't go. Your father…you need to say goodbye."

James tentatively peeled the blankets back. Lily had her face buried in her pillow and was hugging it to her body tightly. James gently brushed her hair back with one of his hands as he sighed heavily.

Lily rolled over, finally, and stared up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was stained with tears. "I can't do this," she managed to whisper.

James didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Instead, he stood and moved to Lily's closet where a black skirt and blouse were hanging on the doorknob. He brought the outfit back over to the bed and laid it out, removing any wrinkles with his wand.

"Who's the anorexic looking girl downstairs?" James asked as he moved back over to the closet to fetch a pair of shoes.

"Blond?"

"Mmhmm."

"That would be Petunia…my _dear_ sister," Lily said quietly.

"Hmm…would there be a problem with me and Padfoot…freaking her out right before she leaves the house later?" James asked lightly.

Lily actually offered up a small smile-which made James feel quite accomplished-and said, "Go ahead."

"Perfect," James said, placing her shoes on the bed next to her outfit. "Now, do I need to dress you, or can you do this part yourself?"

Lily slowly sat up, then she moved to stand on her knees, still on the bed. She opened her arms, indicating that she wanted a hug. James moved closer to the bed and pulled her into a tight one.

"Thank you, James," she whispered into his shoulder, tears burning her eyes again.

"I'll be waiting downstairs and trying not to kill your sister," James said truthfully as he let her go, earning himself another small-yet tearful-smile.

Downstairs, the people had all moved into the living room and were sitting on the couch while Paula was fixing her hair in the mirror. When he reached the bottom of the steps, James shoved his hands into his pants pockets and leaned on the banister. When Paula heard him, she looked over.

James nodded, saying, "She's getting dressed…should be down in a moment."

"Thanks so much, dear," said Paula, turning back to the small mirror. "I knew you'd be able to get her up."

"What are you? The brat's boyfriend or something?" the horse-faced girl-Petunia, James reminded himself-questioned nastily.

"No," answered James curtly. "We're best friends." He wanted so badly to pull his wand out a hex the young woman, but reminded himself again that this was neither the place nor the time…that would come later.

"Would you like any coffee or some sort of drink, James?" Paula inquired, cutting off whatever response that Petunia had.

"Sure," said James, following Paula into the kitchen. Once they were out of earshot of the other three, he whispered, "I'm going to dropkick that boney little-"

"James!" Paula scolded, reaching for a clean mug.

"I'm sorry," James said truthfully. "She's just so-"

"Incredibly horrible? I know."

"Lily said I'm allowed to freak her out later," James said, accepting his black coffee. "I hope you don't mind…"

"Go right ahead," said Paula. "I could use a laugh." She led the way back into the living room just as Lily was heading down the stairs, her flaming red hair and brilliant green eyes standing out against her all black attire.

The ride to the church was a silent one. When they had climbed into the back of the limousine, Lily had taken hold of James' hand. From that moment on, she didn't let go of it, opting instead to squeeze it tightly as she cried throughout the service.

Now they were at the cemetery. The priest along with some good friends had spoken about Jonathan Evans, and now everyone was lining up to place a flower on his casket. This was the first time in a few hours that Lily let go of James' hand. She stepped up and away from him, and she placed the flower on top of the casket.

With that flower, she felt like she was letting go of her father's hand. It was the first time since that horrible night that the fact that her father was never coming back was sinking in. It hadn't seemed real before…but it was real now…it was real.

Lily fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face. What was she going to do now? Who was going to walk her down the aisle? Who was going to give her away at her wedding? There would be no father daughter dances…her children would not know their grandfather and how wonderful of a man he truly was…no…now there was nothing but fading memories.

James placed his flower onto the casket, then slowly knelt down, placing a hand on each of Lily's shoulders. "It's going to be okay, Lils," he said just above a whisper as he half lifted her into a standing position. He led her back to where Paula was standing, and the two women embraced.

It felt like an eternity before the large group of people that had gathered to say goodbye to Jonathan Evans found themselves back at the home of Lily and Paula. When James and Lily entered the house behind Paula, they saw Sirius sticking his head into the hallway from the kitchen.

"Everything is set up out back," he said, fully emerging, a towel over his shoulder. He walked up to Lily and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Sirius," Paula said, moving to the back of the house where there was a door to the backyard. Everyone who was coming in followed her except for the three teens.

"I'm just going to…go upstairs for a while," Lily said. "I'm not really hungry."

"Do you want to be alone?" James questioned, a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Lily said quietly.

James nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll check on you later, alright?"

Lily nodded, turning and leaving the two boys standing in her living room.

"I wish there was something I could do for her," James said, loosening his tie and walking toward the back with Sirius.

"Me too," Sirius agreed, tossing the towel into the kitchen as they passed it. "But, I mean, we've just got to give her space…same thing you needed, you know?"

Nodding, James sighed. "Her sister is horrible..._but_ she says that before the girl leaves, we're allowed to freak her out."

Identical mischievous smiles crept onto the faces of both boys. "What did you have in mind, my dear Prongs?"

"Well," James said, moving to the table where Sirius' food was and picking out what he wanted to eat. "How about this…keep an eye on her." James pointed to where the boney girl was speaking with her pudgy boyfriend. "When we see her go into the house alone to like…go to the bathroom or something, I'll follow her in and transform. When she comes out she'll be completely freaked out that there's a _stag_ in the house. She'll probably scream at which point you, who will have been in the next room come running and you see me and you scream, then she'll look at you and you just transform into Padfoot. She'll either faint or run away, at which point we transform back like nothing ever happened."

"Hmm…Prongs, I love you."


	27. Returns & Exchanges

_Okay…writer's block SUCKS. I rewrote this chapter four times. I kid you not. And I still don't like it that much. Any suggestions for my life?_

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Interlude No. 5.5 or Returns & Exchanges … because it's a little bit of column a and column b…**

The room was mostly dark. On the nightstand sat one flickering candle and on the desk near the window sat another. James Potter sat, his feet up on the desk, staring out of the window. He was lost in his own thoughts…thoughts of one Lily Evans.

James had barely left Lily's side since that unfortunate night. He was only away from her now because they were due at Kings Cross Station the next morning and he had to return home to pack. She would be arriving at his house soon, for Grandma Potter was her ride to the train station. Paula was leaving at four a.m. for a business trip of some sort.

The young man frowned slightly at his thoughts. He sighed. He was so worried about Lily and how she wasn't sleeping and was barely eating. He felt the burning desire to make all of her hurt disappear. What he wanted more than anything in the world was to switch places with her so that he could endure the pain in her place.

James found it quite amusing that a few months prior to this moment, he and Lily were not friends. And here he was now, unable to sleep because of her pain…oh how things could change in the blink of an eye.

Sighing, James removed his feet from the desk and replaced it with his head…quite forcefully. He knew that it was most certainly _not _the time to be thinking this, but he was starting to feel very strongly for Lily Evans again…more strongly than when he asked her out in their fifth year.

"That can't be too healthy for you," came a soft voice from behind him. James snapped up and turned to see Lily, her trunk behind her, standing in his doorway.

"Hey," he said, smiling slightly.

"Hey," she said, moving into the room and seating herself on his unmade bed. James abandoned the desk and moved to sit next to Lily. "Ready to go back?"

"Very," said James. "How's everything?"

Lily smiled slightly. "James, you were with me about six hours ago…it's the same."

"Can't blame a guy for hoping, can you?"

"No, I suppose I can't…"

James looked down at his feet-which were currently sockless-and began to wiggle his toes. "Are you up for a good old fashioned cup of hot chocolate?" he finally asked. _Stop thinking about it, James…it's not happening…not when she's in such a state. Just **stop**._

Lily nodded, laying down on James' bed. "You go get it," she said. "I feel like being a lazy lump of crap."

James stood. "Well," he said, moving toward the door, "you can be a lazy lump, just you're certainly not crap."

When James returned to his room a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of hot cocoa, what he found put a smile on his face. Lily was fast asleep on his bed, hugging some of his shirts like they were a teddy bear. James moved fully into the room to place the mugs on his desk. Moving back over to the bed, James carefully pulled the comforter over Lily covering her with it.

James bent and kissed Lily's forehead before extinguishing the candles that lit the room and leaving it. He was glad that she had gotten to sleep, as she hadn't done much of that in the past two weeks. He would just have to sleep in Sirius' room tonight.

The next morning, Lily awoke tangled in unfamiliar blankets. With one whiff, she realized that they belonged to James, and the thought of him made her smile. _He's so wonderful…such a great friend._

Lily untangled herself from James' blankets and shirts. Stretching, she got out of bed and began to get ready for the day.

Meanwhile, Grandma Potter was busy trying to wake up two sleepy teenaged boys. "You have three seconds to get out of bed before I take out my wand!" she threatened. "_One!_"

"No, Grams," Sirius moaned.

"_Two_," Grandma Potter continued. "_THREE!_"

In one swift movement, Grandma Potter whipped out her wand and shot hot sparks at her grandsons. James and Sirius both shot up-Sirius from the bed, James from the floor-swearing. "Watch your mouths," Grandma Potter said, putting her wand away. "You'd better be downstairs in-"

"We know," said Sirius. "We know, _ten minutes!_"

"Watch yourself, Sirius," James warned. "This sweet old lady isn't as sweet as she seems." This earned James a smack on the head from his grandmother.

"You're both lucky that I love you so much," she said, but she was smiling. "French toast and eggs are waiting."

---

_Dear Diary,_

_Lily here…of course. I'm on the Hogwarts Express right now. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Nancy and some of the guys' stalkers are all on the other end of the train. I snuck off to the Heads' Compartment to get some peace and quiet. I can't stand having people look at me the way they do…not so much James and Sirius, but Remus and Peter and even Nancy. It's nothing bad, I just don't like the sympathetic looks. They mean well…they care. I don't know, a lot of things are just getting to me now._

_What have I done? Patty and Alice were my friends…and now…now they're gone. I pushed them away. Daddy was right, it is my fault. I need to do something to fix it. Life is too short. My father should have died an old man, warm and cozy in his bed…not a relatively young one. We shouldn't have had ambulances at the house all of the time because of how sick he was…every time I see flashing lights now, I break down. Over the summer was probably the worst one. They came in the wee hours of the morning…I think I was writing in you, Diary. He was in the hospital for a long time…_

_I hate this so much! I need him! I need my dad! Who is going to scare my boyfriends for me? Who is going to give me the sound advice now? Who is going to talk into the wee hours of the morning with me in the middle of a thunderstorm? Who is going to walk me down the aisle at my wedding? My kids won't know grandpa…_

_This all sucks. So badly. I want my dad back…right now._

_James just came into the compartment. How did he find me? Well…I suppose this IS the only place I would be, isn't it? It's not a big train. Now he's sitting down across from me. I didn't want to take him from the guys. I've done enough of that in the past two weeks. I wish he'd come sit next to me. His hugs have healing powers, I'm convinced. He's staring at me…he looks like he wants to talk about something. I suppose I should…talk to him._

---

James slammed the compartment door closed. Leaning against it, he let out a long breath and said, "Is everyone accounted for?"

Just as he said this, Remus' voice could be heard from the other side of the door. "LET ME IN, JAMES! QUICK!"

James slid the door back and Remus came stumbling inside. As James shut the door again, Remus said, "That girl just will not give up."

"The one from that date a couple of months ago?" said Sirius, raising an eyebrow. Remus nodded, causing the other three boys to burst out in laughter.

"You guys suck," Remus commented, slumping into a seat. "Where's Lily gone?"

"Bathroom, I suppose," Peter said, shrugging. "I actually need to do that myself and then go find Nancy. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"How is she doing?" Remus asked James and Sirius as Peter left them.

"Not so good," James answered. "And her family isn't helping."

"Well, Paula is," said Sirius. "Her step mom," he elaborated for Remus, who nodded. "It's her sister who is just…_horrible_."

"Oh! But listen to what Sirius and I did!" James said excitedly, grinning like mad. "After the funeral, Sirius and I waited until this girl went into the house alone."

"She was in the bathroom. And when she came out, Prongs was standing there in stag form."

"She _flipped out_!"

"When she screamed-"

"_Shrieked_!"

"When she shrieked, I came running in from the next room and then I screamed like a girl."

"Then she looked over at him and he transformed into Padfoot."

"She went _running_ into the backyard yelling about wild animals and transformations."

"By the time anyone came back in, we had both transformed again and were just sitting in the living room."

"It was _great_."

Remus laughed heartily at his friends' antics.

As the train moved along the countryside, the sky grew darker very quickly. Two hours into the journey, rain began to fall, slowly at first, then more rapidly until finally it was beating down on the windows with a constant driving force.

Sirius was laying on the floor of the compartment and had dozed off about twenty minutes before. Remus had his head in a muggle novel while Peter and Nancy were still not back. James was sitting next to the window, staring at the wet countryside flying past him. With a sigh, he turned to Remus.

"I'm going to look for Lily," he said. "I'm worried about her."

Remus looked up from his book and nodded. "Okay," he said. "Just make sure you don't crowd her, James. Remember what you were like…"

"I'm trying to find a balance," James said. He sighed heavily. "I just want to help."

"If I could make a suggestion…let her come to you," Remus said. "Make yourself available to her…like, go find her, and sit with her. When she's ready to talk she'll talk…don't do what I did, alright? Don't force her…"

"It wasn't your fault, Moony," James said, standing. He put a hand on Remus' shoulder and smiled slightly. "I was out of control…you guys saved me from that."

---

Lily looked up, closing her book. James offered up a small smile. "I didn't know we had to take this compartment today," he commented. "Is there a meeting or something?"

"No," said Lily. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to be around everyone right now."

"You know, Lils, you could have just told us that," James said, smirking. "I've been wondering where you were since we got on the train. We'd understand if you said you need to be alone."

Lily blushed and mumbled, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," James said, dismissing it all with a wave of his hand. "Just…don't do that next time. The guys will understand. They've been through it all before."

Silence engulfed the compartment. The rumbling of the train coupled with the beating of the rain was all that could be heard. Lily was staring out of the window, the silence driving her insane. She wished she could say something, but she didn't know what…

"I don't know what to say," she settled on.

"What do you mean?" James asked, raising his eyebrows. "You don't have to say anything."

"I hate silence," Lily said. "I think when it's quiet and thinking hurts too much."

"I can understand that."

"Why'd you come in here?" Lily questioned, still not looking at James.

"I wanted to find you," James said. "I'm worried about you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend and you're in pain and I don't like that."

"You don't need to be worried about me," Lily said, suddenly turning to face James. "What is it? Do you think I'm unstable? Do you think I'm insane?" Neither of the two knew why, but Lily's temper had suddenly flared.

"No!" James said, his hands up in defense. "I never said that, and I never thought that."

"Well then why are you _worried_?"

James sighed heavily, looking down at the floor before continuing quietly. "I know what this is like…and I know what it did to me, and I don't want you to have to go down the roads that I've traveled. I don't want you to add to your own pain."

Lily looked down, ashamed of herself now. He was only trying to help, after all…

"I don't know why I just yelled at you," she said, barely audible over the sounds of the train and the students it carried. "I'm sorry."

"When my mom died, I didn't eat for almost two months," James said, moving to the seat next to her as he spoke. He put an arm around Lily and squeezed her slightly. "I didn't talk to anyone, not even Sirius and he was feeling just as bad as I was. She was his mother too. Blood means nothing, it's how you feel that counts. The point is, we both understand to some extent what you're going through and we're here for you. Don't be afraid of offending us or asking us something or whatever.

"Like I said, I didn't eat for a while…not a bite. I drank a lot of alcohol whenever I could get my hands on it which isn't hard because Sirius is always hiding _something_ under his bed. I just wanted to be numb to everything and everyone was trying to help and talk to me and this and that. I don't want to be like that to you, but I also don't want to leave you alone…I'm trying to find some sort of balance between giving you space and not…I just don't want you to end up the way I did."

"You're doing a good job," Lily commented. "I'm just unbalanced."

"You're not unbalanced," James frowned. "You're grieving. Listen…you can talk to me about anything at any time. I just want to make that as clear as I can."

With a very small smile, Lily kissed James on the cheek before leaning into his chest and closing her eyes. She didn't see him blush.


	28. Well Whiskey

_Uhm…still, with the writer's block. Kill me now, please!_

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Well Whiskey**

They had been back at school for a week, but James was finding it hard to get back into the normal swing of things. Lily had thrown herself into her work and he barely saw her anymore. She spent any and all free time in one of three places: the library, her bedroom or the kitchens, the last of these three being because she didn't sit with the boys for meals anymore.

Sirius and Remus felt the same way as James: worried sick. They were worried about their redheaded friend, for when she did stop to talk to any of the guys, it was small talk that was obviously being forced…forced happiness.

On Friday evening, right after dinner, Sirius, Remus and James were sitting-or laying, in Sirius' case-around the Heads' Common Room. They were all relatively close to the fireplace because it was a freezing night…

"Well…what do you want us to do, James?" Remus was saying. "We can't attach her to our hips."

"It's times like these," Sirius said, propping himself up onto his elbows, "that we need to go get my stash."

"No, Padfoot," Remus said firmly. "Drinking your stash away isn't going to make Lily feel better."

"I could go for a drink, actually."

The boys all whipped around to face the entrance to the common room where the very subject of their conversation was standing, books in arms.

Before either James or Remus could say anything, Sirius sprung to his feet and ushered Lily out of the common room. As he threw her books over his shoulder, he said something about his various kinds of alcohol. The portrait closed.

"Er…did that just happen?" James questioned after a few moments' silence.

"Yep."

James shrugged. "If you can't beat 'em…" he said, getting to his feet.

"_Prongs_!" Remus shouted, jumping to his own feet and following James out of the common room.

"Calm yourself, Moony, my dearest," James said, a cheeky grin attached to the statement. "I'm just going along. No Ogden's for me, I promise."

"Good, Mr. _Head Boy_."

By the time Remus and James had caught up with the other two, they had already popped open a bottle. Lily was holding said bottle and drinking deeply.

"You're letting her drink the amaretto?!" James exclaimed upon entering the dorm room. "You've had that bottle for like, _two years_, and you wouldn't even open it for _me_!"

"Oh, stuff it, Prongs," Sirius said, sipping from a cup that he had poured for himself. "I told you it was for an important occasion that would pop up sooner or later. Nothing's more important right now than Lils here."

"Love you too, Sirius," Lily said with a small smile before attacking the contents of the bottle once more.

"Er, Lils? How much have you had to drink? We weren't _that_ far behind you," Remus stated, noticing Lily's expression. "You look a bit…_happy_."

"She's never drank hard liquor before," Sirius informed the other two. "Why do you think I didn't give her the Ogden's?"

"You're a bad influence," James said, taking a seat on his old bed. Sirius shrugged and drained the glass of amaretto. He reached under his bed and replaced the cup with a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey.

Remus moved to his trunk and searched for a pair of pajama pants. He disappeared into the bathroom only to reemerge a few moments later one hundred percent comfortable. Grabbing a novel out of his trunk, he jumped onto his bed.

"As a prefect, I must say that this is _so_ wrong," he said as he flipped open the book.

"And as Head Boy, I must override that statement."

"And as Head Girl, I must say that I love all of you."

"And as no one of particular importance, _I_ must say lets play a drinking game!"

"As Head Girl, I must agree."

"As a prefect, I must _disagree_!"

"As Head Boy, I must agree with the prefect's disagreement…but as best friend, I must move my ass to the floor and join you."

The night was spent playing card games and Lily drinking deeply. James stopped himself when he began to feel a growing buzz, reminding himself that he couldn't get caught again. Sirius, however, didn't care. They spent a few hours on the floor next to his bed. Even Peter joined them when he returned to the dormitory.

"I'm sleepy," Lily said suddenly and very slowly through a yawn. "I'm goin' to bed." She attempted to stand but found that the room was spinning quite quickly.

"Whoa, you alright there, Lils?" James said, chuckling. "C'mon, we'll get you back to the dorm…see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye. Night," Peter said from the floor as James lifted Lily from her spot next to Sirius.

"See you in the morning, Lily my love!" Sirius exclaimed, laughing.

"G'night, boys."

James hoisted the redhead up into his arms. She snaked her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. _This blushing stuff needs to stop **now**, _James thought as he felt heat rising to his cheeks.

He made it down to the Heads' Dormitories without much incident-he had needed to hide for a few moments behind a suit of armor while trying to keep Lily quiet as Nearly Headless Nick floated past. Once he made it into the common room, he made his way across the room and into Lily's bedroom.

He pushed the door open with his foot and entered the very dark room. He tripped over what he assumed was a pair of shoes on the way to the bed, but prevented himself from falling down completely. Placing Lily onto the bed, he saw that she was barely awake now.

"Good night, Lils," he whispered.

James turned to leave, but he got only as far as a few steps away before Lily was hugging his knees-she was unable to stand.

"You alright there, Lily?"

"I'm sad," Lily whispered. "I'm really sad."

Biting his lip, James helped Lily up and back over to the bed where he sat down next to her. "Talk to me," he said, placing his arm around her.

"You know all there is to know with Daddy," Lily said, tears instantly springing to her eyes. "And I've been thinking about Patty and Alice a lot…I don't want to dump them, James. They don't deserve that…"

James brought up a thumb to wipe away Lily's tears. "Don't cry," he said softly. "I'll help you and we'll fix it together, alright? We'll go and talk to them and everything will be just fine."

"Really?"

"Really." James offered up an award winning, reassuring smile. "We'll make everything work, Lils. I promise."

Lily smiled, tears still falling from her eyes. James looked into her emerald pools, fully appreciating their wondrous shade. Before he had a chance to even grasp what was happening, Lily had moved in closer and pressed her lips up against his own.

Just as James began to realize that he was kissing Lily-or Lily was kissing him, though at that moment, who was kissing who was irrelevant to James-it was over. Lily was fast asleep, slumped up against his body.

"…right."

---

_Urgh…the shitty-ness of writer's block is completely owning my soul._


	29. The Black Hawk War

_You reviewer people rock my world, just so ya know._

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You're Gonna Have To Leave Now, Or, 'I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue To Fight Them'**

Lily awoke to a pounding headache and an evil feeling in her stomach. She rolled over, moaning, to see James Potter fast asleep next to her.

_Er…what?_

As Lily attempted to wiggle out of his arms, the boy stirred. His glasses were still on, and he was caught off guard by the immediate ability to see in focus. "Mornin'," he mumbled.

"I don't feel so good."

James chuckled softly and attempted to flatten his hair as he sat up. "You cleaned old Padfoot out of amaretto last night, you drunkard." Lily moaned, falling back against her pillows.

"I remember going up to Gryffindor," she said. "How did I get back here?"

"I carried you."

"Why are you in my bed?"

"I was leaving, but you started talking to me about fixing things up with the girls then you, er, fell asleep on me." James thought it best not to remind her of the kiss if she didn't remember it. While half of him yearned to, the other half didn't want to complicate an already complicated situation.

"That's all?"

"Yeah," James said with a soft smile. "Well, that and you suck at Asshole, the best card game in all the world."

The Heads had awoken close to twelve o'clock. James had some leftover hangover potions in his trunk, so that little problem was taken care of. The pair took turns showering and were dressed and ready by one.

Down in the Great Hall, Remus, Peter, Nancy and Sirius were seated at the Gryffindor table. "Thank Merlin for late lunches on Saturdays, eh?" James said as he and Lily took seats next to each other.

"Yep," Sirius grunted through a yawn.

"Nice to see you at a meal, Lils," Remus said, folding his newspaper. "We've missed you, you know."

"Ain't that the truth!" Sirius said, smiling at his redheaded friend. Lily offered them a sad little smile. "Zombie-ness isn't good for you."

"You suck at saying things, Padfoot," James commented as he assembled a sandwich.

"It's true," Sirius sighed.

"What he's _trying_ to say, Lily, is we care about you very much, and we're worried because you're not talking about anything. You're bottling things up and avoiding your friends and studying _way _too much. We love you, so stop hiding from us."

"Well put," said James.

"Agreed," said Sirius. He looked over at Peter, who was in Peter-And-Nancy Land, and added, "Pete agrees as well."

Lily hung her head. "Aw, don't do that," James said, throwing an arm around her. "We loves ya!"

Sirius stood in his seat and in one swift move, leapt over the table. He misjudged the distance between himself and the empty spot next to Lily and ended up on the floor, but he bounced right back up and hugged Lily from behind.

"You won't hold it against me if I don't jump across the table, will you?" Remus asked, smirking at Sirius' behavior.

"Well…" Lily adopted, for a moment, a James Potter Sirius Black mischief smile. "I would."

Sighing and shaking his head, Remus stood in his chair, just like Sirius had done. Unlike Sirius, however, Remus judged the distance perfectly. He dropped to his behind and hugged Lily from the side.

"Awesome group hug!" Sirius said, wiping a pretend tear from his cheek.

Through the tangle of arms, Lily spotted Patty and Alice making their way into the Great Hall to eat. James noticed this as well. "Are you going to-"

"Yeah."

The boys untangled themselves from Lily-and each other-and she stood. "Wish me luck," she said as she left them.

"What exactly is she doing?" Sirius asked, seating himself on James' lap.

"Er…what exactly are _you_ doing?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He loves me," James informed his werewolf friend, snaking his arms around Sirius' waist. "He can't help it, I'm super sexy."

"Hells yes!" Sirius chuckled.

James pushed him to the floor. "She's going to work things out with Patricia and Alice."

"Good for her," Remus said with a smile, pulling his lunch across the table from where he had previously been sitting.

Meanwhile, Alice, Patricia and Lily had retreated into the Entrance Hall.

"What?" Patricia spat at the redhead.

"I want to apologize," Lily said after a deep, calming breath, ignoring the other girl's tone. "I'm so sorry for the way I treated you both. I got caught up with being Head Girl and things at home and the boys and-"

"You mean you _replaced_ us," Alice practically shouted. Lily could feel the anger radiating off of her one time friend.

Lily hung her head, taking mental note that she had been doing that a lot lately. "I'm sorry," she said again. "Everything has just been so-"

"We don't care, Lily," Patricia shouted. "We don't want to hear your excuses! You're a bad person and a horrible friend."

With tears in her eyes, Lily nodded, turning away from the two girls that she had been friends with since the age of eleven. She trudged back into the Great Hall feeling defeated.

The boys were all sitting-even Peter-and staring at her walking toward them. Patricia's shouting had reached their ears from the Entrance Hall. Lily sat down across from James, trying very hard not to cry, but eventually losing that battle. Peter, Sirius and Remus simultaneously stood and walked toward the Entrance Hall where the other two girls still were.

"Oi!" Sirius called. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you two? She's trying to apologize and _that's_ how you treat her?"

"This is none of your business, Black," Alice said. The two girls turned and began a short walk toward the kitchens.

"The hell it isn't!" Sirius shouted. "Lily is my friend. It's _definitely_ my business."

"Even if you're still mad, that was ridiculous!" Peter exclaimed angrily.

"Lily is _not_ a horrible person _or _friend," said Remus, moving to stand in front of the two girls, blocking their progress.

"Yeah, wait until she finds someone to dump you for," Patricia said, pushing past Remus.

The three boys stood, letting the girls walk away from them. "Her father died Christmas night," Sirius said to their backs before turning and heading back to the Great Hall. "All she wanted was a chance to explain."

---

"Lily's decided to take a bath…or something," James announced, dropping into the armchair nearest the fire. He moved the chair slightly so that he could see out of the window. There was a light flurry and the sky was quite gray. "Apparently baths help the female species relax."

"We have to prank them," Sirius said immediately.

"We need to get them _good_," said Peter.

"Ridiculously good," Remus added.

"Officially, I can't be a part of this conversation," said James.

"Unofficially?"

"Belching Powder, Dungbombs, some good old fashioned muggle itching powder-I've got some in my trunk from last year still-hair color changes, _skin_ color changes-make them clash with themselves or something, floating problems, sticking problems, food that bites back, steal their beds, Wormtail in their breakfast…anything you can think of. Make them _hate_ us."

"They do hate us," Peter pointed out.

"They do not know hatred…they won't know it until we are _done_ with them."

---

_I figured we'd give Peter some time here…I don't like Peter. Uhm…I hate writer's block._


	30. Interlude No 6

**Chapter Thirty: Interlude No. 6**

_M.O.M. Declares War_

_Today is truly a historic day. The Ministry of Magic made an official announcement this morning- The Wizarding Community is now officially at war._

_Last night at approximately eight p.m. the Death Eaters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attempted to-_

"To take the Ministry over! Merlin," James breathed. "We're at war."

"It's about time they've done something," Sirius said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"It says here that the Minister was severely injured," Remus said from behind his own copy of the Daily Prophet. "He's in St. Mungo's."

"Who's running the Ministry?" asked Peter.

"Cornelius Fudge is the next in line," said Lily, sipping her pumpkin juice.

"She's right," Remus said, reading on. "Fudge was given control of the Ministry. As of seven this morning, Fudge is acting Minister."

"We are _so _royally screwed," Sirius said, emphasizing each word. "Dad _hates _him."

"With good reason," muttered James, still scanning the article. "Fudge is weak. He won't be winning any wars any time soon."

"Times are looking dark on the horizon," Peter said. He drained his pumpkin juice and made to get up, but stopped. "Actually, times are looking rather good right now," he said, attempting to hold in his laughter.

James, Sirius, and Lily turned while Remus looked up from his paper-being that he was already facing the doors to the Great Hall-to see two girls entering. One of the girls had electric blue hair and completely orange skin while the other's hair was neon green and her skin was purple. As they approached the small group, Lily caught the scent of what she immediately identified as Dungbombs.

"What did you do?" she hissed at James as they drew closer.

With his famous mischievous smile in place, James replied, "Not a thing, dear. I'm Head Boy and I don't get mixed up in this stuff anymore."

"Lily," Alice said-eh…belched.

"…Alice," Lily said slowly. "That _is _you under there, right?"

The girl nodded solemnly as the other opened her mouth to speak in belches. "We need to talk," Patricia…said.

"Without these jerks around, if possible…"

Lily took one last look at the Marauders, who were all shaking with suppressed laughter. "Into the Entrance Hall?" she suggested. The other two nodded and turned to walk away.

"When is that going to wear off?" Lily hissed to the boys as she stood.

"If they're speaking nicely to you, they'll stop belching," Sirius said, smiling proudly. "Pete figured that one out. And if all goes well, they _may _just look normal by lunch."

---

_There's the sixth interlude. Here's the deal, I'm suffering from some nasty writer's block and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with being at home and never having a moment to be alone. So I'm not writing anything more for this story (which means I'm not putting up the chapters that I already have written) until I get back to school. When I get there, I'll revise what I've written, post it, and we'll be back on track. Look for an update on January 21st (Sunday). Sorry for the delays. Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, and making suggestions…being all around awesome readers. Catch you all in about a couple of weeks._


	31. Half Moon Bay

_Hello, all. Upon rereading this chapter, I find it to be somewhat choppy. Forgive me. Thanks for being cool with my little break. I wrote a whole bunch of crappy one-shot fics to get all the BAD out. Haha. Happy Thirty-First Chapter…people who review rock my world._

**Chapter Thirty-One: Half-Moon Bay**

The small meeting room behind the Great Hall was filled to capacity. Twenty-four prefects, two Head Students and one eccentric headmaster sat around along table discussing ideas for Valentine's Day, which was rapidly approaching.

"How about we put on another dance, seeing as our Christmas one was cut short," the sixth year prefect from Hufflepuff's girls suggested, eying James.

"There isn't enough time to organize that," Lily said, perhaps a but more harshly than she had meant to.

"We should just do the same thing as every other year," James said for what may have very well been the hundredth time. He banged his head on the table in front of him. "Cupid, decorations…all of that. If it's really that important, suspend afternoon classes and throw in a feast."

"That sounds splendid, Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore exclaimed happily, clapping his hands together. "You know how I love feasts...you all have fun decorating. I have some business to attend to."

The students chorused, "Good night, Headmaster," as Dumbledore left them to hammer out the details.

Lily took control of the meeting while James tried his best to avoid contact with the sixth year Hufflepuff girl. Within twenty minutes, every prefect had some sort of decorating assignment and they were packing up to leave, finally able to return to their common rooms for the night.

James swung his bag over his shoulder before collecting Lily's books off of the table. She looked at him for a second with an unreadable expression before leading the way out of the meeting room.

"Are you still mad about the whole Patty and Alice thing?" James asked as the cool air of the corridors hit their faces. "We're really sorry…_I'm_ really sorry about ruining your chance of a friendship with them again."

Lily sighed…silence. She linked arms with James after a moment and they walked just a bit slower. "I'm not mad," she said quietly. "I'm really not…I'm just sad. I could have done a lot more for them and I could have done a lot of things different, you know?"

"Either way, we probably went just a little overboard," James said. A smile crept onto his face. "Though, it was _kind of _funny."

Lily chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Only you, James Potter…only you could get away with it."

The pair continued on in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

---

"Welcome, everyone, to Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw! This is Remus Lupin and for some reason, they gave me the megaphone yet again…Anywho, our two teams have taken to the pitch.

"The Bludgers are up and following them is the ever elusive Golden Snitch. Good luck, Seekers. The captains are shaking hands…and _finally_! They've mounted their broomsticks. The Quaffle is up and they are _off_!"

There was a tremendous wave of cheering that was almost deafening.

"Taylor grabs the Quaffle and passes it to MacAvoy. A Bludger from Black knocks the Quaffle straight from under his arm-looks like that might be a break-and it's caught by Potter. Potter's speeding down the pitch, MacAvoy on his tail, regardless of injury! Now _that's_ a Quidditch player! Potter doesn't have any help…oh! He throws the Quaffle to Black who uses his clubs to get it over to McGuire! Brilliant move…absolutely brilliant.

"McGuire fakes the keeper out and SHE PUTS IT THROUGH! Gryffindor takes an early lead, ten to zero!"

James and Sirius slapped hands in midair. "Nice, mate!" James shouted to his friend, who nodded.

The action lasted well into the afternoon. James was beginning to wonder if the snitch had gone rogue and flown off-it had happened at a professional match that he had attended with his father when he was nine.

As the match reached its fifth hour, you could almost hear the players shouting at each other throughout the stands. The cheering had all but ceased due to the hoarse throats and many yawns. Even Remus was beginning to tire, his sarcastic yet witty remarks al but disappearing.

"Em, I would really appreciate it if you could END THIS NOW!" Remus shouted into the magical megaphone. "I'm cold and a bit hungry. There we go, Potter puts another in. The score is one hundred and twenty to one hundred and ten, Ravenclaw's lea-THE SNITCH HAS BEEN SPOTTED!"

The match finally came to a close with another win for Gryffindor to mark down on their records. Emmeline Vance was being carried off of the pitch on the shoulders of her teammates still clutching the Golden Snitch, all of their broomsticks laying forgotten…that is, until they made it to the locker room and realized what they had done.

Lily, Remus and Peter sat together outside of the locker room waiting for their friends. Lily's nose nearly matched her hair. She was shivering, her teeth chattering. Peter and Remus were also quite chilly, rubbing their hands together to try to generate a bit more warmth.

"It must be below zero today," Peter commented, putting his hands over his ears for a moment.

"Why are we out here?" Remus questioned, mimicking Peter. "The castle is _warm_…and there's _food_ there! What's wrong with us?!"

Simultaneously, the two young men stood and stretched. Lily, however, shook her head, saying, "I wanna wait for James."

"And Sirius?" Peter said after a moment. Lily nodded. Peter looked up at Remus, a familiar smile on his face. Remus' smile mirrored that of his short friend and in unison, they said, "Lily likes James!"

"Excuse me?!" Lily exclaimed, scrambling to her feet.

"Okay, Lils," Remus said, throwing an arm around her and pulling her toward the castle. "I saw you guys leaving the prefect meeting the other day…together. James was carrying your books and then you walked away arm in arm…I'm not daft. Neither is Pete most of the time."

"Hey!"

Remus winked at Peter. "You know I love you, Wormtail." He turned back to Lily, smirking still. "You realize that you stare at him when you're not paying attention in class right?"

"I do not!"

"You do," Peter said. "You also talk to him in a different way than any of us…you laugh a different way at _his_ jokes as opposed to, say, Padfoot's."

"You know, I don't blame you for falling for him," Remus said thoughtfully. "He is quite the catch." He chuckled.

"Guys…seriously-"

"Seriously, Lily, you can't deny it," Remus said, releasing her from his grip.

"Fine, I can't," Lily said, looking down at her feet as she walked. "But I also can't do anything about it right now."

"Why not?" Peter questioned.

"It wouldn't be fair to James," Lily explained. "How do I know this isn't just because I'm looking for something to take the pain away? Hmm? Like…he would be my drug of choice…"

"I highly doubt that's all he is, Lils," said Remus knowingly. "I think you just don't want to admit it."

---

James awoke to the overwhelming scent of chocolate. With a groan, he pulled his covers all the way over his head as he flipped himself onto his stomach to bury his head into his pillow…Valentine's Day, one of the worst days of the year.

There was a light knock from the other side of the door and a hesitant call of, "James? Are you up?"

"Yeah," James called back hoarsely. "C'mon in, Lils." He yawned and kicked his covers off before collecting a white tee shirt from the floor to put on.

Lily entered the bedroom, already completely ready for classes that morning. James could see her bag waiting for her in the common room. He offered up a goofy smile. "Morning," he said.

"Happy Valentines Day," Lily offered with a slight smile. "Although, it looks like I'm not the first one to say that to you, in a way…" She was referring to the mountain of boxes of chocolates and Valentines Day cards at the foot of James' bed.

James groaned slightly, shaking his head. "I hate Valentines Day," he said. "Every damn time, I have to throw away chocolates and not drink anything and…" He trailed off, still shaking his head. "I don't know how they get it, but these girls find love potions. Sirius is crazy about the idea and usually eats and drinks anything anyone gives him. Once in fifth year, Remus put one in Sirius' pumpkin juice from Peter and Sirius spent the entire day completely smitten with Pete. It was actually _really _funny."

"That's so horrible!"

"The smile on your face begs to differ, dear," James said, chuckling. "Oh!" James dipped under his bed for a moment, resurfacing with a half dozen roses and some chocolates. "I figured just because I hate this holiday, not _everyone_ does," he said. "So I picked these up for you from Hogsmeade…figured maybe they'd, you know, brighten up your day."

Lily took the items from James with shaking hands and a smile. "Thank you," she said quietly, looking at the flowers. She sniffed them and smiled wider. "Thank you," she said again.

"Not a problem." James stood and wrapped Lily into a delicate hug-so as to not crush the flowers-and smiled widely.

"Listen," Lily said as James released her. "If you wouldn't mind skipping the feast…I'd like to cook for you tonight…as a thanks, I guess. I mean, I know you hate Valentines Day, but…for me?"

---

_It's a date!_

_**It is not a date!**_

_Prongs, she's cooking you dinner…you're eating alone when there's a huge feast going on…five bucks says she's going to ask Padfoot for some wine because he's got that damn bar under his bed. It's a date._

_**Moony, it is NOT a date! She doesn't feel that way about me.**_

_But you feel that way about her, don't you?_

_**No.**_

_Ha! I knew it! I knew it! You love Lily! And don't worry, she feels the same way._

_**Moony, stop.**_

_Prongs, stop denying it. Pay attention._

_­---_

Lily knocked on James' door. Everything was ready, dinner was on the table and the wine was poured. _Thank Merlin for Sirius, _she thought. "Everything's ready," she called.

A well dressed James Potter, trademark goofy grin firmly in place, excitedly opened the door. "I've been locked in there for an hour having to _smell_ everything. Do you know how hungry I am?"

"Well, I hope you're very hungry," Lily said, leading the way over to the table. "I've made a lot."

James rushed up behind her and pulled out the chair that was to be hers. With a smile, she took her seat and James pushed her closer to the table.

Dinner was filled with chit chat about different things such as Quidditch and classes. A lot of it was also filled with James praising Lily's cooking abilities and filling his plate with serving after serving and Lily filling their glasses with more and more wine.

By the time dinner was done with, both of them were very full and somewhat drunk. James flopped on the couch, loosening his belt by a few notches and sighing. "That was very, _very _good," he said happily.

Lily plopped down on the couch right next to him. She brought her feet up and leaned on James. He snaked an arm around her and pulled her body closer to his. "Glad you liked it," she said.

James cocked his head in a way so that he could look down at Lily. He couldn't get what Remus had said earlier that day out of his head…Remus was convinced that Lily and James were perfect for each other. Maybe he was right…or maybe this was just the wine talking…but Remus is always right, right?

Before he could help himself, James lowered his head and his lips caught Lily's in an innocent kiss that soon turned fiery. By the time they finally broke apart, Lily was laying on the couch, James propping himself up so as to not crush her under his weight. Both of them were breathing heavily, and James found himself lost in Lily's emerald green pools.

"Lily," he breathed.

"No, James," she breathed back. He sat up, pulling her up with him so that they were both in a sitting position. "I'm sorry," she whispered, biting her lip when she saw the look of hurt and disappointment on his face. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I don't want to use you as an excuse to not feel my own pain. It's not fair to you. I don't want you to be my drug of choice until I feel better."

James sighed heavily.

"I'd rather be your drug than nothing, Lily Evans…at least then I'd know that I could help you feel better."


	32. Five Days And Counting

_In honor of the zillion hour ride back to school that lay ahead of me for tomorrow, here is Chapter Thirty-Two…I think you're gonna love it. In retrospect, the last chapter could have been A LOT better…and I'm sure some of you will realize that and write it in your reviews, which is awesome because constructive criticism is always good. Point is, I'm going to make this one better than the last one because I owe you all at least that much. _

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Interlude 6.5 or Five Days And Counting**

_Dear Diary,_

_I think I may have just broken James Potter's heart…_

_The way he looked at me when I said 'no'… I wish I could just crawl into a hole and die right now. I just don't think it would be fair to him because I don't really know what I want right now. I still find myself incredibly…just…depressed, I guess. I try not to bother him with it, and so he probably thinks I'm lying to him when I tell him that that is the reason and it wouldn't be fair…but he said he doesn't care, didn't he. He said he'd rather be a drug to me to help me feel better than nothing._

_Someone shoot me, please._

---

Remus Lupin and James Potter, both bundled up to fight the cold breeze, were walking at a steady pace toward the castle. They had been down at Hagrid's hut for tea.

"So," Remus said slowly, knowing he was about to tread into some dangerous territory. "Have you spoken to Lily about _the kiss_?"

"Stop it, Moony," James said, shoving his hands into his pockets…he had left his gloves at Hagrid's, but Hagrid would probably bring them to dinner that night, so it was alright.

"It's been a few days, James," Remus reasoned. "Talk to her about it."

"I would if I could!" James suddenly burst hysterically. "She won't talk to me, Remus." James stopped walking and turned to face his old friend, his breath coming out in patches of white fog. "Every single time I've tried to talk to her about _anything_…she won't talk to me. I've ruined our friendship and any chance I could have had with her."

"So you're admitting that you _want_ a chance?" Remus said slowly and with a smirk.

"Now's not the time for I-Told-You-So's, Moony," James sighed.

"Fine, but you owe me a moment or two of gloating," Remus said, clapping his friend on the back and pushing him forward. They continued their trek to the warmth of the castle. "Listen, you can't let her…_timid_ behavior throw you off, alright? Promise me that you'll talk to her tonight…for all our sakes."

"What's that supposed to mean," James questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I have a bet with Peter, okay? Just…talk to Lily."

That afternoon found the boys sitting through an excruciating Double Transfiguration _not_ listening to Professor McGonagall's lecture on Human Transfiguration. Unbeknownst to just about everybody, it was a topic all four of them knew quite well…so well, in fact, that Peter had transfigured his eyelids to make it look like he was still awake when he had been sleeping for the past hour or so. Remus, between throwing James a few gloating glances every now and then, was drawing stick figure scenarios all over his parchment and making them come to life with muttered spells. Sirius was writing what looked like a letter, or at least a very long note, while James just stared out of the corner of his eye at a silent, note-taking redhead.

"Now," Professor McGonagall said in a tone that demanded attention in such a way that even the three very bored Marauders had to look up and pay attention…it wasn't, however, enough to wake the slumbering fourth member. "Your N.E.W.T.s are rapidly approaching. It's time you started acting like you want to graduate! I want a six foot essay on the finer points of Human Transfiguration, due Monday…and it had _better_ be thorough! Class dismissed."

With a heavy sigh, Remus shook Peter awake as Sirius complained about the assignment. James, however, wasn't listening to him or to Peter's mumbles of, "Just five more minutes, Mom…" He was looking over at Lily and watching her pack her bag. This was their last class of the day and, James decided, the best time to catch her for a quick chat.

"I'll see you guys at dinner," he said to the other three. Standing, James straightened his robes and swung his bag over his shoulder just as Lily did the same. There were three or four library books left on her desk that James guessed she was about to go return, so before she had the chance to, he scooped them up, thinking, _This one works every time._

"You don't have to do that," Lily said quietly, holding her hands out for the books.

"If it got six words out of you, I do," James said, trying his best to smile. "To the library?"

Realizing she would get nowhere if she argue, Lily simply nodded and led the way out of Professor McGonagall's classroom. Once they had cleared the main hallway, the corridors were relatively empty.

"So…" James said, trailing off lamely.

"Listen…" Lily said, looking around. No one was in the corridor that they were walking down at the moment, so she seized the opportunity to pull James into an empty classroom. "In here."

James placed Lily's library books onto one of the desks along with his bag as Lily lit the candles in the room with a wave of her wand. "I'm sorry," they both said at the same exact time.

"What are you sorry for?" James questioned, cocking his head slightly to the side. "I shouldn't have, er…I-I shouldn't have done what I did."

"And I shouldn't have said what I said." Lily, dropping her bag to the floor, approached James with her arms open. He opened his own, pulling the redhead into a tight hug. "You're not just a drug to me, James," Lily said when she finally let go. "But I'm still working things out, you know? I'm still not one hundred percent happy…I just don't think it would be fair to you if...you know."

"Next time, how about we let _me_ decide what's fair for me or not, eh?" James said with a silly little smile playing on his lips. "Lils, no one is ever one hundred percent happy, you know that. I mean, especially now with the war and all…you may never be one hundred percent happy, but I would like to make you as happy as you can possibly be in this crazy little world that we live in…no matter what it takes."

James' eyes had not left Lily's emerald pools once. Looking into his eyes, Lily felt so safe…it was this warm, fuzzy kind of feeling that made her feel like she was floating on air…like nobody could touch her so long as this man was around because he was her protector.

James sighed heavily when she did not answer. His brow creased, making it obvious that he was trying to hold back his sadness. "Or we can just pretend that this and the other night never happened, if that'd be better?"

"It wouldn't be," Lily whispered, still gazing into James' eyes. "I'm sorry," she went on, still whispering. "I just love looking into your eyes."

As these words left Lily's lips, the eyes that she seemed to love so much crinkled in a large smile. "Does that mean-" James was cut off by a nod. Lily stood on her toes and gave him a light kiss on the lips. When her lips left his, she pressed herself to his chest in a tight hug. "I really need to get to the library before dinner," she whispered. James chuckled and let her go. He collected both of their bags and the stray books before opening the door to the classroom and letting Lily lead the way out.

---

The evening found Remus laying in a bed in the Hospital Wing. The full moon was only a day or so away and he was not feeling very well. Peter and Nancy had taken one of the passageways out to Hogsmeade for a date and Sirius was nowhere to be found to James' knowledge. James himself was sitting beside Remus, his feet up on a second chair.

"So…I talked to Lily," James said after a moment of silence. "You may now officially gloat and you're allowed up to seven I-Told-You-So's."

"Seven?" Remus repeated with a tired smirk. "You're going out now, aren't you?"

"I think Lily and James Potter has a nice ring to it, don't you?"

Remus chuckled slightly, holding his stomach. "I told you so." He sighed lightly with a smile. "This is a good day for relationships," he said.

"What do you mean?" James asked, popping an eyebrow. "Did you finally give in to that Hufflepuff?"

"Ha…ha…ha. _Very_ funny, Prongs," Remus said, sarcasm dripping off of each 'ha.' "Sirius asked Emmeline out."

"What?!" James exclaimed, jumping to his feet so fast that he knocked _both _chairs upside down. "That's against the rules! He's not allowed to hook up with anyone on the team!"

"No no no," said Remus. "He didn't ask her to _go _out, he asked her _out_."

"But…but Padfoot doesn't ask girls out," said James bewilderedly. "Padfoot asks girls to _go _out."

"I know! I was as surprised as you are. In fact, I still am."

"Wow…" James breathed, plopping back down in his seat…or so he thought. The chair was still upended and so James ended up on the floor…painfully.

"Smooth, Prongs…smooth."


	33. The Missing Hours

_Ah…it is **so **good to be back at school. Though you all probably want to kill me…my apologies. I'm way busier this semester than last… Anywho, I'll shut up now and get on with it._

**Chapter Thirty-Three: The Missing Hours**

James ripped the invisibility cloak off of himself and Sirius and threw it over the nearest armchair, effectively making half of the chair disappear. He stomped into his room, kicking the door open.

"Prongs, quiet down or you'll wake Lily," Sirius said, following James into his bedroom.

James had retrieved the Marauder's Map from his trunk and was now hunched over it. "He's not on the map," he said, any anger that he may have been feeling having dissipated at this point. "At first I thought he was out with Nancy but she's in her dormitory."

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to go to Hogsmeade alone, would he?"

"What's going on? It's three in the morning and I'm _trying_ to sleep." A very annoyed redhead stood in the doorway to James' bedroom, her slipper-covered foot tapping quite angrily against the cold floor.

James and Sirius both stopped and looked up at the pajama clad girl. For a few brief moments there was silence, then, "Peter's missing."

"What do you mean Peter's _missing_?" Lily questioned shakily. "How…did you lose him when you were out tonight?"

"He never showed up," Sirius explained, walking over to Lily. "We thought he was just an idiot, but he isn't anywhere in the castle or on the grounds."

"Have you seen him since dinner?" James inquired, following Sirius to the doorway, the Map in his pocket.

"I haven't…" said Lily, frowning. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to-"

"That's exactly what we were just thinking," James said. Sirius bit his lip worriedly. "We're going to Hogsmeade."

"You can't go look for him!" Lily exclaimed. "It's too dangerous. Voldemort has a presence in Hogsmeade."

"Which is exactly why we need to go find Pete _now_," Sirius and James said in unison. They looked at each other with the same strange expression. "We really need to stop doing that," James said. Sirius nodded.

"I'm coming with you," Lily said, turning to go get changed.

"No!" James protested. Lily looked over her shoulder. "It's too dangerous," he said.

"Exactly," she replied. "Someone needs to save your asses."

Ten minutes later, the three Gryffindors were speed walking the tunnel that led to the cellar of Honeydukes. "Aren't we going to wake the owners?" Lily questioned when they reached the end of the tunnel.

"We have connections, my dearest," said James.

Sirius opened the trap door , sticking his head out. "Lumos," they heard him whisper as he crawled up into the cellar. The other two followed, also lighting their wands. The somewhat dusty cellar was pitch black. Replacing the cover to the trap door, James said, "Where do you think we should start looking?"

"If he did come here, why would he?" Lily questioned, leading the way over to the rickety staircase.

"Nancy," Sirius said suddenly. "Her birthday is coming up soon. He mentioned it yesterday."

"What would he want to get her?" James muttered to himself as they entered the outdoors. He closed his cloak to shield himself from the cold.

"Maybe we should split up," Sirius suggested.

"No way," said Lily. "Then what happens if one of us gets caught, and I'm not talking about one of the professors."

Sirius turned to James. "Do you have your mirror on you?'

James shoved his hand into his cloak pocket and pulled out a small mirror. "Two-Way Mirror," he said, responding to Lily's bewildered look. "Sirius and I use them when they separate us for detentions."

"You two check the main street, I'm heading downtown," Sirius said. The other two nodded, and they split up.

---

Remus Lupin awoke to the sunlight pouring in through the high windows of the Hospital Wing. With a slight moan, he rolled over and, just like any other post-full moon morning, there was James Potter sleeping in an uncomfortable chair next to his bed.

Remus sat up slowly, trying to ignore the pain shooting through his joints and muscles. To his surprise, Lily was laying on a makeshift bed of two chairs pushed together a little ways away…and in the bed next to him was his friend Peter.

"What in Merlin's name…"

"Mornin', Moony," Remus looked up and saw Sirius entering the Infirmary, a picnic basket from the kitchens in his arms.

"What's going on?"

"Pete wasn't being an ass last night by missing the moon," Sirius said quietly, placing the basket onto the nightstand. "He went into Hogsmeade after dinner to pick up a Nancy's birthday present and got himself caught by some Death Eaters, low ranking blokes."

"I smell food." Lily sat up and stretched, her neck and back cracking in the process. "Is there any sausage?"

"You betcha."

Lily smiled softly at Remus as she made her way toward her breakfast. "How are you feeling?"

"Extremely confused."

"Did Sirius tell you how I saved his and James' asses last night?"

"I was getting to it," Sirius said, blushing. He turned back to Remus. "Lily Evans is the queen of all things magical," he said. "Those low ranking blokes I was telling you about were actually pretty good with a body bind."

"So, of course, Mr. All-That-Is-Man over here-" Lily chimed in, motioning to James "-decides that it is _way _too dangerous for little ol' me. He bursts in, gets himself in a whole lot of trouble… To make a long story short, I knocked the Death Eaters out of their boots and Sirius is now my man-servant."

"If he's your man-servant, what does that make me?" All three of them looked down at James, none of them having noticed that he had awoken.

"My personal masseuse, of course. Get to work." Lily plopped down onto James' lap and he began to rub her shoulders.

"So, what about Dumbledore?" Remus asked, accepting the breakfast sandwich that Sirius had put together for him. "Are you guys getting in trouble?"

"We actually have a meeting with him at ten," said James. "I don't know what's going to happen…"

---

At ten a.m., James gave the gargoyle guardian the password-fizzing whizbees-and stepped onto the staircase leading to the headmaster's office. The headmaster himself was sitting at his desk when the three seventh years entered his office. He looked to be writing a letter, so they took a seat. Once he had finished, he gave the parchment to Fawkes, who left to deliver it in a whirl of flames.

"Good morning," Dumbledore said evenly.

"Good morning, sir," the three students chorused, unsure of how he was about to react to their little nighttime adventure.

Dumbledore sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat. "You put me in a very interesting position," he began. "What you did was a blatant violation of school policy…however, you not only managed to save your friend, but to capture two Death Eaters in the process. I'm not entirely sure if I am angry with the three of you or not."

"We're kind of hoping for the not," Sirius said somewhat quietly, smiling unsurely at his headmaster.

For a moment, Dumbledore just looked at the three young people in front of him, expressionless. Then, without warning, he broke into a huge grin. "You know that you are lucky, yes?" he said, sitting up. "Any other headmaster would have you all thrown out of school, _especially_ you two." He gave Lily and James a meaningful look. "No more trips to Hogsmeade, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good…go stay with Mr. Pettigrew. I'm sure he will appreciate it if you're their when he wakes up."


	34. Spring Cleaning

_I'm sorry…and I will bore you with my excuses after the chapter. Enjoy._

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Spring Cleaning**

Weeks had passed. Peter seemed to be having trouble getting back into the normal swing of things. He wouldn't talk about anything that happened that night in Hogsmeade. Sirius, James and Remus were doing all that they could to get Peter to feel comfortable. Sirius was trying to get him into pranks. Remus was attempting to help him with his school work, and James was trying to do a little bit of both. Even Nancy wasn't getting through to him and had announced to the other three boys directly before vacation that the couple was on 'a break.'

James sat thinking about all of this on the train ride to London. Sirius was off somewhere with Emmeline, presumably searching for the food trolley, and Remus was laying on the floor of the compartment stretching his spine. Peter was asleep on the seat opposite James who was sitting next to the window, Lily sleeping with her head resting in his lap.

He looked from the passing countryside down to the small redhead who had fallen into a light sleep. With a small smile playing on his lips, James tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, for it had been tickling her nose. She truly was a beautiful person… At this thought, James frowned. She was too beautiful to be feeling the amount of pain that she felt-and tried to hide-on a daily basis.

In the couple of weeks that had led up to this vacation, Lily had withdrawn from her friends considerably. James was the only person that she had really spoken to. He spent many nights holding her, rocking her as she cried for the loss of her father, tucking her in once she had fallen asleep…taking care of her. And he was glad to be doing it…he would do anything for her.

The slowing of the Hogwarts Express shook James from his thoughts. He looked down at Remus who was picking himself up off of the floor. "Fifteen minutes or so," he said, raising his arms above his head, and then bringing them to rest at his sides.

"Does that…whatever it's called-"

"Alexander's Technique."

"Yeah, that. Does that really help your back and stuff?"

"It's amazing," Remus said. "You should try it sometime."

Remus moved to wake Peter just as Sirius entered the compartment, looking quite please. James gently shook Lily by the shoulder. "Lils, darling…you need to wake up."

Lily opened her eyes ever so slightly. Squinting up at the raven-haired boy, she stretched and, through a yawn, said, "Why you wakin' me up?"

"We're coming up on Kings Cross, love," James said softly. At this, Lily clamped her eyes shut and curled up, pressing herself as close to James as was possible. "Come on, Lils," he said softly.

Remus motioned to Sirius and Peter that they should take their things and wait outside of the compartment. They did so without protesting, seeing where this was going for Lily. Once the compartment door had snapped shut, James sat Lily up so that she was facing him. "I don't want to leave you," Lily said quietly. "I can't go back to my house. I'm not ready to face a home without my father."

"You have to, Lils," James said quietly. "You're never going to be _ready_ for something like this…but it needs to be done. I know it's hard, but Paula knows that too…she's not expecting anything out of you, you know? I'm sure she'll be fine with you Flooing over to my place during the week. You can come over any time. Grams loves you."

A single tear escaped from Lily's floodgates and made its way down her cheek. James caught it with his thumb, wiping it and the damp trail that it had left in its wake away. "Don't cry, love," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. "It's going to be okay…I promise you." He pressed his lips to hers lightly for a moment.

The train's speed began to decrease at an even faster rate. "I'm going to bring our trunks out, alright?"

Lily nodded slowly and James let her go…she felt so cold and alone every time he let go of her. It boggled her mind, for in the short amount of time that they had been together, they had had barely any alone time. Yet they still somehow managed to grow quite close… With this thought, the redhead gave a small sigh before standing and pulling on a muggle coat. She opened the compartment door so that James could pass with the two trunks (made much lighter thanks to a featherweight charm.)

In about five minute's time, Lily found herself bidding Remus and Peter goodbye. She, James and Sirius passed through the barrier, entering the muggle world together.

"I see Grams," Sirius announced, waving to his right. A few seconds later, Grandma Potter was at his side, and he was giving her a nice big hug.

"Hello, dears," she said with a warm smile. "How was the ride?"

"Long," said James, hugging his grandmother.

Grandma Potter moved to Lily and gave her what seemed to be an extra long hug. "I'm making a birthday dinner for David tomorrow," she said upon Lily's release. "You're more than welcome to join us. James and Sirius are making the desserts."

"No way!" Sirius protested at once. "James isn't allowed to help me." He turned to Lily. "Last year, he set my cookies _on fire_."

"It was an _accident_," James pouted. "You can do all the cooking you want…I'll nap."

"No, you'll get dressed and you'll fetch Lily and bring her back to the house," said Grandma Potter sternly. "There will be no napping involved.

"That sounds alright to me," Lily said with a small smile.

"Good." The old woman smiled warmly at Lily. "I'm going to pull the car to the front," she announced. "You two need to get your apparition licenses… I'll see you tomorrow, Lily dear."

"Goodbye," Lily said, smiling at the sweet old lady. As Grandma Potter left them, their attention was turned to their left where shouts of, "Lily! James! Sirius!" could be heard. Paula appeared next to them, all smiles.

"Hey, Paula," Sirius said, bowing and kissing her hand.

"Sirius, you're so…you," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"I try," he said with a grin.

"We have to go," James said. "Grams should have the car around any moment."

"Have a good drive, boys," Paula said with a smile. "Drop by for dinner sometime this week, won't you?"

"Wherever food calls me to, I'm there," said Sirius with a grin as he took up his trunk.

"We all know this," James said, rolling his eyes. Then his eyes fell onto Lily. He suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to not return home…now, his heart told him, was not the time to be leaving her. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said against his heart's will, his eyes melting into hers. Lily nodded, some hair falling into her face as she did so. She threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly. "You're going to choke me!"

"Sorry," she mumbled, loosening her grip. "See you tomorrow."

A quick kiss was shared, and then the boys left a somewhat confused Paula and a very upset Lily Evans in the middle of Kings Cross Station.

---

Later that night, Lily found herself in the kitchen baking a batch of cookies. She felt it rude to go to dinner the next evening at the Potter's without bringing something along. As she put a tray into the over, Lily heard a strange popping noise come from the living room that nearly caused her to drop the uncooked dough. She hurried into the living room at the same time as Paula appeared at the top of the stairs.

James was seated on the couch looking quite please with himself. "What did you break?" was the first thing that Lily thought to ask.

James' smile widened and he looked like he was concentrating on something. In a split second, he disappeared from the couch and reappeared behind Lily. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. Paula shrieked at James' sudden move just as Lily exclaimed, "You got your license!" excitedly.

"Yes I did!" James said, his smile still firmly in place. "Sirius…well, they're still looking for his left eyeball. They found his leg in the soup down in the Ministry cafeteria."

Lily chuckled. Paula, gaping, approached James and poked him lightly. Upon discovering that he was indeed solid and real, she drew her hand back quickly. "How'd you do that?!"

"It's called apparating," Lily said.

"It's like when muggles get a driver's license, except it's way better," said James. "Now I can travel by apparition. I concentrate on a place where I want to go, then I go there. It's kind of tough to explain it any better than that."

"That is so _awesome_!" Paula suddenly exclaimed. "Do one more!" With a laugh, James complied, apparating to the top of the steps and then back. "That is just…that is simply amazing! Wow…wow."

With a look of amazement plastered onto her face, Paula big the teens goodnight and returned to her bedroom. "I've never seen someone so amazed at apparition," James commented, chuckling. He moved into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Lily followed, moving back to the oven to finish putting the cookie trays in. Once that task had been competed, she set the egg timer to fifteen minutes.

Moving back over to the table, Lily took a seat on James' lap, her arms finding their way around his neck. His arms snaked around Lily's waist, drawing her closer to him. Eyes closed and heads slightly tilted, their lips found each other. James' tongue left the sanctuary of his mouth and was now tracing the lips of his love, begging entry which was granted.

Once they felt the overwhelming need for oxygen, the pair pulled apart slightly, foreheads resting on each other. "I should be looking for Sirius' eye." James whispered, smiling slightly.

"Then why did you come here?" Lily inquired, also whispering.

"Because I missed you…unbearably. So I figured maybe Sirius' left eye did too. Have you seen it?"

"It's only been a few hours."

"You're addicting."

Lily smiled slightly. "Go find Sirius' eye."

"I'll be by around five tomorrow."

Lily nodded, forcing herself to detach form James' body. Once she had stood, he disapparated.

James appeared in his own kitchen a moment later, and he sighed. He had been taking for granted the fact that he lived with his girlfriend while at school. "Where have you been?"

James' head snapped up. Sirius had just closed the refrigerator door with his foot and was now moving toward the table, arms full of food. "Late dinner?" James asked as Sirius sat down.

"You could say that," said Sirius. "You could also say that I'm just a fattie." He began to spread jelly onto some bread. "Where have you been?" he repeated.

"I see they've found your eye."

"Ah, so you popped over to Lily's then? Pardon the pun," Sirius said, going for the peanut butter now.

"How did you know?"

"You look happy, you're avoiding my question because you know you should have been looking for my eyeball, and I'm half dog, so I smell her on you," Sirius said simply. He took a large bite out of his sandwich before pouring himself a glass of milk. "Don't worry, I'm not mad," he went on to say. "They found it like, two minutes after you left anyway."

"In that case, can you pass me the peanut butter?"

Sirius slid it across the table before taking another bite of his sandwich. "I think you and Lily are meant to be," he said through a full mouth.

"What?" James said, a bit caught off guard.

Sirius swallowed before elaborating. "You guys are meant to be, buddy. I think that you're going to get married and make me godfather to your first kid." He paused to take a gulp of milk. "Think about it," he went on. "Those six years you spent at each other's throats…sexual tension."

"At age eleven?"

"Yep, even back then. Do you think it would have been this easy for her to worm her way into that heart of yours if that wasn't the case? At the risk of sounding womanly, I see the way you look at her, mate. You've only been 'together' a short while and already you look at her like you would die if she left. She looks at you the same way. You're barely into the relationship and already you're giving each other those looks…you guys are it."

"All of this coming from Mr. Friday Night?" James questioned with a smirk.

"Don't be an ass," Sirius said frowning.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," James said, unable to get rid of the smirk. "Do you really think we're 'it?'"

"I do," said Sirius. "This time last year, I'd hate it…but now I couldn't think of a better sister-in-law."

James' little smirk turned into a true smile. "Thank you, Padfoot."

"I try," Sirius said, smiling.

---

_Alright, so I apologize for the amount of time it took to post this. I wrote it a while ago, but between almost never being in my room to type it up (classes, clubs, rehearsals, etc.) and homework and…blah. I had half of it done on Tuesday night, and then the hard drive in my laptop exploded (I shit you not.) So here I am on Friday, more in debt that I was on Monday with a new computer and a new chapter. Dies on the inside Hope you enjoyed it, though._


	35. Interlude No 7

_Before you get excited, it's just an interlude. New chapter by the end of the weekend I hope._

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Interlude No. 7**

_Dear Diary,_

_We go back to school tomorrow. I'm so relieved. It's good to see Paula, I love her very much. Honestly, though, I hate being in this house now. It hurts too much. So I'm excited to get back to school…_

_I know I was at his house just last night and all, but I miss James. So much. I miss Remus and Sirius, too. It's weird when Remus isn't around to keep those two in line and acting like HUMANS! I think the whole dog thing is really going to Sirius' head… It's kind of funny, though. _

_Speaking of Sirius, he's been-I guess-dating Emmeline Vance. I was talking to him about it last night. Apparently that's going swimmingly. It's so weird to see Sirius Black in a relationship, but I guess I'd have said the same thing about James this time last year. Yet here I am…I'm his girlfriend. That still makes me laugh sometimes… I do love him. He's a good person. I am worried, though. We're graduating soon and I know he's thinking about going into training right away to become an Auror. I don't know what's going to happen with us. I know there may be a position in the Arithmancy department opening up at Hogwarts next year, but it's not a sure thing. Plus, who knows if Dumbledore would give it to me? I haven't been, but I'm starting to really freak out about life after Hogwarts. I don't do well with change… I need a plan._


	36. The Art of Losing

**Chapter Thirty-Six: The Art of Losing**

Sirius was on a mission…the man was hungry. Sure, he had only just eaten breakfast less than an hour ago, but damn it all, he was still hungry. The food trolley witch spent the beginning of all of the journeys in the front of the train with the conductor, and that was where his mission was leading him.

"Hey, Black, long time no see." The soft female voice immediately pushed his mission onto the back burner…if only for the time being.

"I saw you two days ago, dearest sweetest love of my life," he said, flashing a smile as he turned to face Emmeline Vance.

"It's called sarcasm, dummy," Emmeline said, rolling her eyes. "Where are you off to?"

"I'm hungry," Sirius pouted as his stomach offered up a mighty growl to back him up. Emmeline giggled at him as she offered up a peck on the cheek and then told him that she would find him later.

Just like that, his mission was first priority again.

Fifteen minutes later, Sirius returned to his friends as he finished off what had been an arm full of Cauldron Cakes. As the door to their compartment closed behind him, he pulled a chocolate frog out of his robes pocket and tossed it to Lily. "Here, Lils," he said as he did so. "I know you love those."

"Thanks, Sirius," she said, closing her novel and unwrapping the frog.

"What? Nothing for me?" James asked, looking slightly hurt. "How come Lily gets something?"

"Because I like her more than you," Sirius said simply, taking his seat.

"That hurts."

Any further discussions of Sirius' allegedly hurtful comments were cut off by the arrival of Remus. Lily, James and Sirius all looked at him expectantly. "He's not coming back," Remus said, looking extremely put out. "Pete's not coming back."

"What?!" all three exclaimed at once.

"I just spoke to Nancy," Remus began. "She got a letter from him yesterday…he's not coming back to school after what happened with Hogsmeade. He wrote to her to suggest she see other people or something…"

"Why didn't he write us?" Sirius demanded angrily.

"Maybe he doesn't know how to tell us," James suggested. He looked beyond sad at the loss of his friend's presence.

It was Sirius who voiced what the others were thinking-even Lily-in a very dejected tone. "How can we be the Marauders without Pete?"

Silence engulfed the compartment…

---

Sirius fell backwards onto his bed with a heavy sigh. Remus sat atop Sirius' trunk facing the dark-haired boy. "It's so weird," Sirius commented, feeling the young werewolf's eyes studying him. "There were six of us in this dormitory in first year, and now it's down to just us two." He sat up so he could see Remus properly. "Between this whole evil war thing and James' Head Boy stuff…jeez."

"Yeah, it's going to be strange without Peter…I wonder what they're going to do about his diploma."

"I'm sure Dumbledore will authorize some sort of home schooling," Sirius said, flipping onto his stomach in order to reach under his bed. "Cocktail?"

Remus frowned for a moment. "I am a prefect, you know."

"Cocktail?" Sirius repeated, ignoring Remus' comment.

"Eh, what the hell…pour me an amaretto on the rocks."

Sirius chuckled. "'On the rocks…'" he repeated. "You've been around me too long, Moony."

"Yeah, I know," Remus said, taking his glass from his old friend. "Here's to Peter," he said, holding the glass up. "May he…return out latest letters."

"Cheers."

---

The end of spring break seemed to signal to the professors that their students deserved to be punished for the relaxation that they had taken part in for the week that they were not at school…or at least just the seventh and fifth years did. N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s were creeping up, so between study groups organized by Lily and Remus and Quidditch practices to train for the Final, James didn't even have enough time to eat a daily dinner. He was feeling thoroughly wiped out, which was apparent by the scrambled eggs that were stuck to his forehead when Lily woke him up one Friday morning in the Great Hall.

"Whahappen?!"

"You were asleep in your breakfast, darling," Lily said sweetly, trying to hold back her laughter. She swatted the eggs off of his forehead before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Barely," James answered with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. "I wanted to end practice at eleven, but they wanted to push it…we went until one. By the time I got back and showered and all it was almost three."

"Well, the match is tomorrow," Lily said in a comforting tone. "Soon you'll be done with Quidditch-as a champion, I might add-and then you'll have time to study _and _to sleep. Lucky you!"

"Can't wait," James mumbled sarcastically, resting his head on the table-this time away from his breakfast. Studying for N.E.W.T.s was not his cup of tea.

Lily slipped her hand into his and he instinctively pulled her closer to him. "I love you," he mumbled, half asleep already.

"I love you, too, sleepy," Lily said with a smile as she began to make up her own plate. She definitely could not wait for the Quidditch Finals to be done with; she wanted her boyfriend back.

Saturday morning arrived with a splash. It was pouring outside and there was only ten minutes to go before the match. James stood in front of his team in the locker room as he rubbed his eyes, searching his overtired brain for something meaningfully encouraging to say to them.

"Listen up," he finally began. All chatter ceased abruptly. "For quite a few of us, this will be the last time we take to the Hogwarts Pitch. I just want to stress that this is a game…it's just a game. Have fun with it. Whether we win or lose, we've already beaten Slytherin, and that's all that really matters." Everyone chuckled at this. It was the truth for a few of them. For others, it was a joke, and this was the most important match ever to be played at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry. "Seeing as this is my last year here, I have to name my successor," James went on slowly. "The person I've chosen is new to the team this year and has proven their worth and skill time and time again. Next year's Lions captain is Emmeline."

The round of applause that Emmeline was receiving was cut off by the voice of Remus Lupin out on the pitch. "Welcome to the final match of this Quidditch season…Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw! I hope you all brought your umbrellas because it is wet and we could be here for quite some time."

"Lets go, everyone," James instructed, picking up his own broom. "Good luck."

"The players are taking to the pitch, followed by the lovely Madame Hootch," Remus said into the magical megaphone. "As the captains shake hands, the Snitch goes up. The Seekers are going to have their work cut out for them today, I'll tell you… The Bludgers are up…and there goes the Quaffle.

"Potter makes a quick move and is able to gain possession. He passes it to McGuire straight away and she's off! I think Gryffindor plays better in the wet weather, honestly. McGuire fakes Matthews and scores!"

The crowd, about half of which was on Gryffindor's side, made a tremendous amount of noise both positive and negative. The Chasers didn't seem to notice, however, because they were right back to their task.

The game went on for quite some time staying at that score. Matthews seemed to have gotten used to the inclamate weather because he wasn't letting anymore slip past him.

Remus seemed to be having a good time. The game was moving fast and he had a lot to say about it. Lily was seated next to him, her cloak wrapped tightly around her small frame. She was growing quite cold and shivering a bit but enjoying the game all the same. It was the first time, she noticed, that James hadn't scored within the first fifteen minutes or so of a match, and she wondered if that was a bad omen.

The whistle of Madame Hootch soon startled everyone for the second time that season. The entire crowd looked down at the pitch wildly. James dropped the Quaffle, his eyes moving straight to Emmeline expecting to see her taking a victory lap, the Golden Snitch held high in her fist…but it wasn't she who was taking that lap…

Gryffindor had lost the Quidditch Final.

Lily stared openmouthed at the Quidditch Pitch for some time before turning to Remus. "Did that just happen?" she said. He nodded wordlessly, the magical megaphone still held up to his mouth.

"R-Ravenclaw…Ravenclaw wins the Cup," he said finally, sounding absolutely flabbergasted. He switched the megaphone off and looked down at Lily. "Crap," was all he said.

Nodding, Lily stood and together they pushed their way down the stands. By the time they had made it to ground level, the Lions had already retreated into their locker room. Both Remus and Lily stood outside in the rain, waiting for the Lions to reemerge. When the team finally did come out, they completely surprised the two bystanders.

Sirius was giving James a piggyback ride while the others were carrying on rather rambunctiously. "C'mon, guys!" James called to Lily and Remus from atop Sirius. "We're having a party!"

"Er…you guys are-"

"It's a goodbye party for the seventh years," Emmeline explained as the rest of the time followed Sirius and James up to the castle ahead of them. "We already had all of the plans for this, and we did have a _really _good season, so we figured that there's no reason to be that upset about losing."

All smiles, Lily and Remus joined the team in cheering and racing up to the Heads' Common Room.

"You should have had this in the Gryffindor Commons," Lily said, laughing as she and James slipped into her bedroom. It was three in the morning and the party was still raging thanks to some of Lily's handy silencing charms. "We have to clean all of this up tomorrow, you know."

"We're magic, Lils," James said, chuckling. He drained his glass and let it fall to the floor before flopping onto Lily's bed. "A quick spell or two and it's _fine._"

Lily laughed and followed James' example. Once her drink was gone, she jumped onto her bed, landing on James. "You're right," she said, giggling still. She maneuvered herself until she was in his arms and facing him.

James gave Lily a tight squeeze and sighed, a smile on his face and his eyes closed. Lily leaned close and pressed her lips to his. What began as an innocent little kiss soon turned into a passionate fire. When they finally broke apart, Lily's button-down was somewhere on the floor and James was propped up over her.

"I love you, Lily," he said quietly, lowering himself enough to kiss her neck.

Lily's back arched slightly and she moaned something that may have been, "I love you too." Her hands moved to James' pants and her fingers fumbled with the button and zipper.

"Are you sure?" James whispered huskily. Lily answered him by taking his lips on yet another fervent journey as the party raged on outside of their door.


	37. End of The World

_It's short. My apologies._

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: End of The Night**

Breakfast.

What a beautiful thing, breakfast… The food is always hot and delicious. The aroma rivals that of a Christmas Feast. However, the food was not the best part, at least not in this situation. Breakfast was the only time that our friends were able to see each other. Yes, it was now N.E.W.T.s week, or Hell Week as the students began to refer to it as.

"It's…only…Tuesday?!"

"You sound surprised," Lily said as she poured herself a large glass of pumpkin juice.

"Seeing this makes me want to drop out of school," Emmeline commented, eyeing Sirius nervously from his left.

"It's not as traumatic as he's making it out to be," James said. "I promise."

"Just keep up with your work and study and the Nastily Exhausting exams won't seem to nastily exhausting," Remus added.

"They lie," Sirius muttered. He twitched slightly.

"What did you have yesterday?" James asked, looking over at his best friend concernedly.

"Transfiguration and Charms."

"So once Potions is done with, you'll have done all of the hard ones," James reasoned. "That's today right? The rest will be easy as pie."

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Head Boy!"

"I'm going to blame that on stress and ignore it."

"OKAY! So who wants to relax tonight for an hour or two?" Lily asked before Sirius could reply. Everyone gave her a strange look. "What? We need it. Plus, we all have the same test tomorrow, right? Defense? It's at one in the afternoon. We'll be alright if we misplace some study time…poor Sirius looks like he's about to explode."

James, Remus and Emmeline all examined Sirius, who was now muttering about Astronomy into his pumpkin juice. "Agreed," they said in unison.

By Friday, the final day of testing, each of the seventh years was thoroughly exhausted. As if it were some sort of sick joke on the school's part, their final N.E.W.T. was for Astronomy which meant that it began at nine p.m.

"It's as if they _wanted _to prolong our suffering," James was saying as he, Lily, Remus and Sirius exited the Astronomy Tower.

As Remus opened his mouth to reply, he was pushed aside from behind as Sirius ran past his friends.

"What the-where's he running to?"

Both James and Lily shrugged. "I'm going to bed," Lily announced through a yawn. "It feels so good to be _done_."

"Literally," James said, taking hold of her hand. "We're done with Hogwarts."

Remus smiled. "We have to have a party," he said.

"You've been alone in that room with Padfoot for too long," James said, but the smirk on his face nullified his concerned tone.

"You boys and your parties," Lily said.

"Oh, as if you're innocent, Lily Evans!" Remus exclaimed.

"I try to be," Lily said with an evil smile. "Good night, boys." James let go of her hand and they parted ways, Remus and James going off to find Sirius.

The two boys found their friend in the form of a big black dog running around the lake. "Do you think he was stressed out this week?" James questioned as they approached the water.

"Perhaps just a bit," Remus chuckled.

"So, Moony my old friend, what are you going to do after graduation?" James inquired, flopping onto the grass and laying back with his eyes closed.

"I don't know," Remus said, sitting down beside his long time friend. "There's not much work available for a werewolf."

"That's not going to matter," James said, his eyes snapping open. He sat up and turned toward Remus. "You're a smart, capable wizard. Why should the werewolf thing matter?"

"Oh, come on, James, I know you're not _that_ dumb," Remus said, staring out over the water as Padfoot trotted over. "All anyone is ever going to see me as save anyone who knows here is a monster. They're not going to care that I'm second in our class or that I know spells that some Ministry workers have trouble mastering. All it's ever going to come down to is that I'm a monster."

"Lie to them," Sirius said after transforming back into his human form.

"I'm registered," Remus said gloomily. "It's a matter of public record."

James bit his lip, his eyes studying the grass intensely. Finally, he raised his hand and patted Remus on the back. "Don't worry about it, Moony," he said. "We're going to stick together…always."

"Through thick and thin!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his arm around Remus.

"Right through 'til the end!"

"Nothing will ever stop us!"

"Nothing will tear us apart!"

"Forgive me for interrupting," Remus said, a wide smile plastered on his face, "but isn't this the same speech you gave me way back when you found out my little secret?"

All three of the boys laughed. They spent many hours out on the grounds that night… They laughed; they told stories and recalled memories. To James, it was the perfect ending to a very important time of his life.


	38. Dammit

_Without boring you with too much detail, majoring in Music takes way too much time, and I am so tired right now. If something is completely messed up in here (i.e. spelling, grammar) then PLEASE let me know so I can fix it. I read through it just now, but I'm about to pass out from being up for 3 days._

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Dammit (Growing Up)**

It was a warm day. Birds were chirping, swooping down from the trees to greet the sun-filled afternoon. The brilliantly green grass greatly contrasted the cloudless blue sky. It was the most beautiful day that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry had seen in quite some time. As the clock struck twelve, Remus Lupin looked up from his book.

Remus and James were sitting in the shade of a large tree near the lake. "Where are Sirius and Lily?" Remus questioned, blowing his sandy hair from his eyes.

"How good is that book?" James inquired jokingly, setting his own book down. "Padfoot went to get us some lunch from the kitchens, and Lily left almost forty-five minutes ago to take a nap."

"A nap?" Remus repeated bewilderedly. "She is up for an hour and she needs a nap? That's more like you and Padfoot than Lily."

"I know," said James, not even bothering to defend himself. "She's been really tired lately. At first I blamed it on exams, but now it's just ridiculous! Our last exam was a week ago."

"Maybe she's coming down with something," Remus suggested.

"Maybe…"

"So are your dad and Grams coming to graduation tomorrow?"

"Dad's on a mission," James said dejectedly. "He wrote this morning to let me know. Grams will be here though. She's arriving tonight and mentioned taking us all out to dinner tomorrow night."

"Sounds good."

"Lunch!" Both boys looked up to see Sirius dashing toward them, picnic basket in hand, and laughed.

As the afternoon wore on, the boys decided to head inside. Remus and Sirius returned to Gryffindor Tower to begin packing their things seeing as their final journey from Hogwarts was only two days away. James slowly made his way toward his own bedroom, taking in every miniscule detail of his route that he could.

When he finally made it back to the common room, he saw that Lily's bedroom door had a piece of parchment hanging on it.

_James, _

_Please wake me for dinner._

_Love, Lily_

James crumpled the note and tossed it in the general direction of the fireplace. He pushed the bedroom door open slowly and crept inside, being careful not to make too much noise. James closed the door behind himself and quietly slipped into Lily's bed, wrapping his arms around her. She stirred.

"Morning, sunshine." James said, smiling. "Of course, I use that term lightly, seeing as it's nearly five p.m." Lily groaned something inaudible, but James ignored her. "Dinner is in one hour, so I suggest you peel yourself out of bed now."

"I don't want to," Lily said, rolling over so that her back was to her boyfriend.

"Are you feeling okay?" James asked after a moment. "You've been sleeping _a lot _lately…maybe you should have Madame Pomfrey check you out."

"I'm not sick," Lily said quietly.

"Are you sure?" James pressed on. "Maybe you should just make sure…all you do anymore is sleep…you-"

"James, I'm not sick," Lily said irritably.

"But-"

"I'm not sick, James, I'm pregnant!" Lily suddenly burst, sitting bolt upright.

James, jaw dropping, nearly fell backwards. He gaped at Lily, willing his brain to let him speak. _Say something, you idiot! Something…anything! For Merlin's sake, man, SAY SOMETHING!_

"You're angry," Lily said dejectedly, hanging her head. "This is exactly why I-"

"No!" James exclaimed, finally recovering. "No!" he repeated. "How could I be angry, Lils?! This is amazing!"

"Amazing?" Lily repeated, voice wavering.

"Well, yeah…don't you think so?" James inquired slowly.

"We can't have a baby, James," Lily said quietly, refusing to meet James' eyes. "We're barely out of Hogwarts. What will we do for money? Where will we live? How will we support it?"

"Are you…are you saying that…that you want…to terminate?" Lily looked up, finally, to meet James' eyes. "Why?"

"James…" Lily was getting choked up. She found it difficult to speak and tears began to come to her eyes.

"Don't cry, Lils," James said softly, opening his arms to her. Lily propelled herself into his arms and began to cry.

"It's all messed up now, James," she cried. "None…none of…. This shouldn't be happening! We can't do this."

"We can do this," James said. "I know it isn't logical, but we can do it. What's logical isn't always what's _right._"

"But-"

"No, Lils…no buts, alright?" James said. "Lets just get through this weekend and we'll figure it out once we get out of here, alright?"

Lily nodded into James' chest. He laid the two of them back onto the bed and they stayed there together in silence.


	39. Graduation Day

_So…college…I hate it. Hate this chapter also… it's short. The real meat of the story, however, is going to begin in the next chapter. I'm excited. Hope you are as well…_

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Graduation Day**

James' eyes snapped open. It was as if he had just been doused in freezing cold water, except Sirius was no where to be seen. He looked down at the slumbering redhead in his arms and his heartbeat calmed a little. She had that effect on him…she could calm him even when he was more than nervous without even doing anything.

Slowly, James rolled Lily to the opposite side of the bed. Standing, he tucked her in tightly before finding his slippers and leaving the bedroom.

In the common room, the dying fire was offering its last crackles. James pointed his wand at the fireplace and the fire sprang to life again. He plopped down onto the couch, burying his head in his hands. A baby…a baby! A human life that he was responsible for…

"What the hell are we going to do?" he groaned quietly. "I'm so full of it…"

"Full of what?"

James was so frightened that he literally jumped out of his seat. Spinning around, he saw Remus standing in the doorway of the other bedroom. Hand over his heart and panting, James asked Remus what he was doing there.

"You've lived with him," was Remus' only response.

Nodding, James motioned for Remus to join him and sat back down. "So what are you full of, Prongs?"

"Shit," James answered simply.

"Okay…why?"

"We were going to tell you guys tomorrow at breakfast…" James began. He sighed heavily. "Lily's…Lily's pregnant."

"What?!" Remus exclaimed.

"Shh, she's sleeping," James said, finger over his lips.

Remus offered him an apologetic look. "How did this happen?"

James gave Remus a strange look and then asked, "Would you like me to explain exactly how one-"

"No! Thanks but no! You know what I meant."

"Yeah…yeah. I don't know what we're going to do," James said, running his hand through his hair, making it stand on end. "I want to move in together and stuff, you know? I want to do this the right way."

"Are you going to ask her to marry you?"

"I'd like to," said James. He sighed again. "What are we going to do, Rem?"

"Well…didn't your grandfather leave you a bunch of gold when he passed?" Remus asked. James nodded. "Use it to get a place…start yourselves off."

"That's a great idea, actually," James said, perking up. "I had forgotten all about that gold!" With a large smile, James slapped Remus on the back. "Thanks, Moony. You're the greatest."

"I try," Remus said with a cheeky grin.

The following morning after breakfast, Lily, James, Sirius and Remus all found themselves in the boys' dormitory in Gryffindor Tower.

"Where's Miss Vance, Padfoot?" Remus was asking as they all took seats on the beds.

"She'll be up shortly," Sirius said, smiling. "I accidentally spilled jam on her blouse."

"Klutz."

"Oh, shut it, Lils."

"You can't be rude to me anymore, Sirius, I'm a mommy."

Sirius began his fake pouting routine. Remus chucked a pillow at his head just as the door opened, revealing Emmeline. "Remus," she said, "please don't! He's already short on brain cells!"

Everyone, save Sirius, roared with laughter. "Even your own girlfriend won't defend you, Padfoot!" James said between gulps of air.

"Har har," said Sirius, crossing his arms like a five year old.

---

James found himself, of all place, up in a tree. He was dressed in his graduation robes…so he should have been in the Great Hall practicing his speech like Lily was…or perhaps he should have been up in Gryffindor Tower with his friends making sure they packed up every single last dungbomb and piece of chocolate that could be found…or he even could have been waiting at the gates to greet his grandmother. But James Potter was in none of these places…James Potter was sitting in a tree looking out over the lake.

About ten minutes prior to James Potter disappearing from his friends' sights, he had begun to think, once again, about exactly what Lily being pregnant meant.

"Oy! James!" James looked down, shaken from his thoughts by none other than Sirius Black. "You do realize that you're required to give a speech in about ten minutes right?"

"Yeah, I-oh crap!"

"What?" Sirius called up.

"I never wrote my speech!" James hollered, climbing recklessly down the tree.

Sirius laughed as James ran past him and, shaking his head, he slowly walked back up to the castle for the last time.

_I'm going to write the next chapter at work tonight instead of working._

_See you tomorrow, at the latest the day after, with it._


	40. I'm In

James Potter collapsed on his couch, exhausted. "I think that's the last of it," he said through a yawn as he draped his arm around his girlfriend.

"You act as though you didn't move all of that stuff with magic," Lily pointed out, leaning into her boyfriend's embrace. He chuckled, as did she. "I still can't believe Grandma Potter left you this place and all of that money…"

"I still can't believe that even Dad didn't know about any of this," James commented. "And I still can't believe she's gone…"

"I know," said Lily. "Me too…" She closed her eyes and sighed. "I can't believe it's been a month since graduation already. Is life just going to fly by like this forever now?"

James opened his mouth to reply, but before he could a series of pops sounded and a blur of black hair launched itself at the couple on the couch. "HOUSEWARMING!"

"Sirius, you oaf! She's _pregnant!_" The owner of the voice and one other person grabbed Sirius' arms and wrenched him off of his friends and onto the floor.

"I'm sorry. My boyfriend is an idiot." Emmeline smiled at James and Lily. "I thought he was beginning to grow a brain."

"That's wishful thinking, Em," said James.

"Ouch," Sirius pouted, standing and dusting off his robes.

James looked around his best friend to see Emmeline and Remus both shaking their heads, smiles on their faces. Behind them stood a smaller person with mousy blonde hair… "Wormtail!" James shouted, jumping to his feet.

"Hello, Prongs," Peter said quietly. "Lily, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Peter, thank you," Lily smiled politely.

"What are you all doing here?" James asked with a huge smile. "Especially you, Pete. It's great to see you…"

"Dumbledore had us all come here," Remus explained, taking a seat. "He should be here soon."

"And I just tagged along because I had nothing better to do…and I love apparating," Emmeline said with a grin.

"Speaking of apparating…"

Everyone turned to look toward the kitchen where Professor Albus Dumbledore followed by enough cups of tea for everyone. "Hello, all," he said, taking a seat and a cup as the rest floated to each of the former students and Emmeline. "Miss Vance, I had a feeling that you would be here this afternoon." Emmeline smiled innocently. "Yes…well, I'm a busy man as of late, so I am going to get right down to business."

Dumbledore leaned forward and placed his tea cup and saucer onto the coffee table. "I was told that you all want to take part in the Order of The Phoenix," he said. "I am here to offer you this chance, however I must first warn you that if you take on this position it could very well mean an early death."

"With all due respect, sir, so does not fighting," said Sirius. "We've all been reading the papers."

"Everyday more and more people are disappearing, muggle and magical alike," said Emmeline. "Everyday more and more bodies are being found."

"Miss Vance, you're still a student."

"I'm of age, sir," said Emmeline. "I'll fight with or without your blessing."

"You are just like these fine gentlemen and this lovely young lady, aren't you?" Emmeline nodded. "So be it."

"I'm in," said Sirius.

"Us too," Lily and James said simultaneously.

"I would never dream of not," said Remus. "Without me this lot would be doomed."

"Oh, _ha ha ha_, Remus."

"Thanks, Sirius. I thought so."

"Mr. Pettigrew?" said Dumbledore.

Peter looked absolutely terrified, but when he spoke, his voice seemed quite calm. "Yes, sir," he said. "I'll fight."

"Good," Dumbledore said, nodding. He proceeded to explain Order rules and procedures as well as what they would be doing in the near future.

As Dumbledore spoke, James caught a glimpse of the outdoors through the window. It had been a fine day out only moments before, but now the sky was stormy. Winds were blowing hard and all life outside of the house was nowhere to be found.

"James?"

James snapped his eyes back toward Dumbledore and the old man nodded in understanding. "His presence is felt everywhere," he said slowly. "This is what we are up against…it is going to be a long fight."

"We're ready, professor," said Lily quietly but with conviction. "We're ready."

"Then lets get to work."

----

_I know it's short. I never thought working a full time job would kill this much. Did everyone enjoy the OoTP movie? And how excited are we for Deathly Hallows on Friday night? Hopefully I'll have the time to actually punch out what's in my head sometime this week. If I don't, have fun reading the book and I'll see you on the other side when our worlds all end. ;)_


	41. Miles To You

Quick author's note: The parts written in italics are flashbacks.

The streets of Paris bustled with the business of its muggle inhabitants. At a table by himself at a small corner cafe sat James Potter. He slowly sipped his coffee before turning the page of his book. He was on an important assignment for the Order of The Phoenix, however they had sent him to Paris two weeks ahead of time telling him that if he didn't take a break that they'd have to lock him up.

James saw their point, he supposed. After all, before coming to France he hadn't slept even four hours straight in almost two years. He really was exhausted. Who wouldn't be?

"_Avad-"_

"_STUPEFY!" _

"_Thanks, Padfoot. That stupid...well, he almost had me." James walked across the room to pick his wand up off of the floor. With a flick of his wrist, the Death Eater that Sirius had just saved him from was bound and gagged._

"_So I think that puts me up to twenty-four times saving your life," Sirius said, clapping James on the back._

"_Yeah, but you're still trailing me by three, why don't you work a little harder next time, eh?" Both young men laughed. "Oh well, lets drop this lot off by the Ministry, shall we?"_

"_You'd think they'd start to wonder who is dropping all of these bound up Death Eaters at their doorstep, wouldn't you?"_

"_Eh, they're stupid."_

_Once the friends had gotten rid of the four Death Eaters that they had just been battling, they both apparated back to Godric's Hollow. "Hunnies, we're home!" Sirius shouted, dropping onto the couch._

"_James!" a shriek sounded from the kitchen. Peter came running into the sitting room, tripping over his own feet._

"_Jeez, Pete, I thought you were Lily," James said jokingly. "Where is my pleasently plump love, anyway?"_

"St. Mungo's!" Peter exclaimed, arms in the air. "She's having the baby!"

James licked his finger before turning the page again. He sighed lightly, wondering where the waitress was. His cup was empty. The waitress reminded him strongly of Lily, with her long auburn hair and kind demenor. He just wished that he understood wait she was saying to him...

Ah, yes, Lily Evans. James' mind wandered from the novel in his hands. How he missed Lily Evans... How he wished that he had done things differently...that he hadn't taken that mission...that he had stayed by her side that day...

_Remus and Sirius were pacing back and forth opposite each other as Peter snoozed sprawled over two of the waiting room chairs. They would stop every so often and look at each other worriedly before resuming their pacing. James had been out to tell them that there was some sort of complication over 2 hours ago and they had not heard anything since then._

_Little did they know at that moment that James was standing in the hallway watching them. He took a deep, steadying breath and let it out slowly before stepping out into the waiting room. Both Remus and Sirius were at his side within a second, neither saying a word. _

_James looked them both in the eyes momentarily before becoming very interested in his shoelaces. Finally, he shook his head._

"_Lily?" Sirius croaked._

"_Hasn't woken up yet," James whispered. "Has no idea."_

_Remus grabbed James in a bonebreaking hug. "James-"_

"I need to go back to her now," James said, cutting off any sympathy from his two best friends. "You guys can get out of here if you want. Feel free to use the house or whatever...I don't think I can go back there for a while... Can you feed the cat?" 

"_Sure, pal," said Sirius._

_  
Without another word, James turned and left them standing there looking hopeless. When he reentered Lily's private hospital room, all of the doctors had gone, taking his daughter's body with them. James moved into the room slowly, finally taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He tucked Lily's hair behind her ear. She began to stir and he suddenly started to panic. He wasn't ready! He wasn't ready to tell her what had just happened._

"_James," Lily whispered, smiling a huge smile. "James, where's the baby? I want to hold her." When James did not respond, Lily opened her eyes fully and tried to take a good look at her love. "James, why are you crying? Is something wrong with the baby?"_

"_Lily...the baby...she..." James stood up, turning away from Lily._

"_James, you're scaring me."_

_James turned back to Lily, kneeling next to her bed and taking her hands in his. "Lily, the baby...the baby was stillborn."_

"_Wh-what?" Tears instantly sprang to Lily's eyes. After a moment, she slowly turned away from James and began to sob. James laid behind her, wrapping his arms around her smaller, shaking body..._

A single tear made its way down James' cheek. He let it fall, knowing that it was beyond his control. The smiling waitress made her way to his table and refilled his cup. "Than-I mean, merci." She smiled at him and turned to the next table.

James refocused his eyes on his book, thinking about how strange he probably looked staring at the same page for so long. However, he couldn't help his mind from wandering yet again.

"_You want me to go on a mission _now_?" James said, running his hand through his hair. "I don't think I should leave Lily."_

"_James, I told him that," Sirius said, looking into the room where Lily was napping. "I told him that I'd go alone, but he won't let me. And Remus is still out for the count for a couple of days because of the moon and no one knows where the hell Peter has been. He's disappeared." He sighed. "Believe me, I don't want you to leave her, James, but everyone else is on their own assignments."_

"_It's only one night if we get it done quickly," James said heavily. "I'll tell her...we'll leave in an hour."_

James closed the book, giving up on himself. He picked up his coffee and downed half of the cup in one gulp. With a heavy sigh, he checked his watch. He still had another hour or so before his dinner reservations, so he contented himself with watching the cars pass by in the street.

"_Lily, we're back!" James shouted as he climbed the steps to their Godric's Hollow bedroom. "Everything went alright, no bumps at all." He pushed the door to their bedroom open and his heart nearly stopped. _

_All of the drawers in Lily's dresser were empty, her closet was empty...none of her stuff was in the room. James ran down the stairs to find Sirius in his fridge. "Lily sleeping?"_

"_She's gone," said James, dropping into a chair, burying his head in his hands._

"_She went out?" said Sirius. "That's great! She hasn't left at all yet."_

"_No, man, she's _gone_," James shouted angrily. "All of her things are gone! She's not coming back, Sirius!" James began to cry. "She's left me..."_

I don't even like coffee, James thought to himself as he finished what must have been his eighth cup. He sighed again. "God, I miss her," he whispered to himself, running a hand through his hair. As he said this, a fluff of red caught his eye. He turned his head to see a redhead walking toward him, her nose in a french magazine...her emerald eyes flicking from side to side...

"Merlin..." he whispered. "Evans!" he shouted. The woman looked up alertly, a look of pure shock on her face. Suddenly, she spotted the messy-haired englishman sitting at the corner cafe.

"No way," she said. "_James Potter_?!"

"Lily...Lily what are you doing here?" James exclaimed, jumping to his feet and wrapping his arms around the petite redhead.

"Oh, James! It's been so long!"

"One year, three hundred and thirty-seven days-" James checked his watch "-sixteen hours and forty-two minutes."

"...wow," Lily said, popping an eyebrow. "May I sit down?"

"Of course," James said, smiling and pulling a chair out for her. "What in Merlin's name are you doing in France?"

"I could ask you the same question," said Lily.

"I asked first." James nervously fidgeted with his watch. "I'm on assignment and a forced vacation. Sirius seems to think I'm about to drop dead from stress and stuff."

Lily looked slightly guilty at this. "I'm so sorry to hear that," she said. "And...I'm sorry that I just, well, up and left you."

James waved it off, though his face betrayed him. "Why are you here?"

"Well, after I left, I moved here and became an English teacher at a muggle school," said Lily. "I'm living just up the road in my own little flat. It's quite nice, actually."

"Oh, well...I'm glad you're doing well, Lils," said James. "It's really nice to see you and all, you know..."

"Listen...how about I make you something for dinner tonight at my place?" Lily offered with a genuine smile. "It's the least I can do after what I've done to you and all."

"Er, alright. Yeah, why not?"

James left what he owed and a tip for the pretty waitress on the table. Lily led him back to her flat while telling him all about the children that she was teaching and about her new life in the muggle world. James was so torn. He had been absolutely miserable since she left England without warning, but at the same time he was so happy that she was no longer depressed as she had been when last he saw her.

Lily cooked James a lovely meal of lasagna with homemade sauce. Together they laughed and joked, remanising about happier times. It was the first time James had truly been happy since Lily left.

"Remember the fort?" James said, laughing. "That was the best."

"Yes! Yes!" Lily gasped. "I have hot chocolate! We can build one out of the couch!"

"Meet me in the living room," James said with a huge smile. He hopped off the stool and grabbed his wand out of his jacket. By the time Lily was done making the hot chocolate and made it into the living room, James was inside a very elaborate version of their old hangout.

Lily crawled inside and handed James his cup of cocoa. They continued to remannice about the 'old' days, but after a little while, they lapsed into a very comfortable silence. James slowly slid his arm around Lily's waist, causing her to slide closer to him.

"I had almost forgotten how perfectly our bodies fit together," she whispered, not meeting his eyes.

"I never did," James said, his heart beating so fast and so hard that it was hard to hear Lily's whisper.

"I didn't leave because I don't love you, though," Lily continued. "I just couldn't stand being there anymore...not after..."

"I understand, I suppose. A letter would have been nice, though. I didn't know if you were even alive anymore, honestly. But I never stopped loving you either, I can promise you that."

Lily looked up into James' face. Before she could help herself, she found herself kissing him. And before he could help himself he found himself taking her shirt off. And before she could help herself she found herself unzipping his slacks...

The next morning, James needed to leave for his assignment, and later that day he was due back at Order headquarters. Lily was half dressed and making breakfast when he awoke to tell her this.

"I don't want you to leave yet, James," she said sadly. "I miss being with you."

"So come back with me," James said, moving toward her. He was shirtless and wearing only a pair of boxers. "Come home, Lily. Please."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't stand to," she cried, arms in the air. "The baby-"

"The baby's dead," James said. "That's going to be true wherever you are!"

"James, I-"

"Come home, Lily. Come home and marry me."

"What?"

"Pack your things, come back to England, and marry me!"

"I can't just do that..."

"Why not?"

"Because..."

"Because...?"

Lily's hands dropped to her side. "Okay," she said weakly, shrugging.

"Okay?"

"Okay," she repeated. She dropped her spatula and ran to James, jumping into his arms...

_A/N: Okay, so that's that. This chapter is dedicated to JustCallMeDollFace. Thanks for getting me to finish this. Thank you to everyone for reading this story and to those of you who reviewed, an extra special thanks. I may or may not post another story. I want to write at least half of it before I post the beginning because I don't want to run into another wall like in this one then make everyone wait forever for an update. So if you'll check in with my bio periodically, you'll find out when that will happen. Thank you again everyone!_

_Cheers!_


End file.
